
Class, 
Bnok. 



S^3 




Kyyo^^^^--^ V/^^^6^^^ 



DOVER FARMS 



IN WHICH IS TRACED THE DEVELOPMENT OF 
THE TERRITORY FROM THE FIRST SET- 
TLEMENT IN 1640 TO 1900 



By frank smith 

PRESIDENT DOVER HISTORICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY: 
VICE-PRESIDENT DEDHAM HISTORICAL SOCIETY; VICE- 
PRESIDENT BAY STATE HISTORICAL LEAGUE 



DOVER, MASSACHUSETTS 

PUBLISHED BY THE HISTORICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY 

1914 



'^L^O^^ 






PREFACE 

In these pages the task of "unfolding the scroll of time" has been 
attempted. Herein are presented many facts with which the present 
generation is unfamiliar, and unless now recorded would be lost for- 
ever. While the basis of this work rests upon the records of Norfolk 
and Suffolk counties, yet the material there obtained has been en- 
riched by many facts gathered through a period of thirty years from 
the older people of Dover, together with much of interest which has 
been accumulated through a wide correspondence with former resi- 
dents of the town. 

While the old social intercourse and mutual dependence of the 
country folks is now mostly gone, yet the suggestion of the life which 
has been lived here will touch, it is believed, something very deep in 
many hearts. "The sentiment that makes us linger over old-fashioned 
things is one of the most powerful in man. It knits the generations 
to each other, making it certain that the reverence of the young for 
the old will never die out of the world." From moulding relics and 
obscure traditions of other times something may be learned which 
shall not merely gratify curiosity. We believe it is well to have the 
life of a country town individually told before the change begins 
which is sure to come in the social and domestic relations of society. 
Now every settlement can be easily traced on a map of Dover. 

In recognition of the great debt of gratitude which we owe our 
forebears for their toil and patient sacrifice in the development of 
these farms, in making these roads, and in the building of the town's 
institutions, this volume, which aims to show the life they lived, is 
dedicated. The obligations of the author are due George E. Chicker- 
ing, the oldest resident of Dover, who patiently listened to the reading 
of these pages and whose accurate knowledge has helped to make clear 
many obscure points in the history of the town; to Walter P. Hender- 
son who lettered the accompanying map, and to the many residents 
who have contributed so generously to meet the expense of illustrating 
this volume. 

iii 



It is hoped that the large number of illustrations found in this 
volume will add to its interest and value. The plan has been to 
give (a) pictures of the different types of older houses now stand- 
ing in Dover; (b) a collection of the notable additions that have 
been made in recent years; (c) things of historical interest, like 
the town pound and the dam at Charles River; (d) some bits of 
beautiful scenery in old roads, springs, etc., which add so much to 
the attractiveness of the town as a place of permanent residence. 



IV 



^ ^'T^ HERE is a quiet about the life of the farmer, and the hope of a 
1 serene old age, that no other business or profession can 
promise. A professional man is doomed some time to iind that his 
powers are wanting. He is doomed to see younger and stronger men 
pass him in the race of life. He looks forward to an old age of intel- 
lectual mediocrity. He will be last where once he was the first. But 
the farmer goes as it were into partnership with nature — he lives with 
trees and flowers — he breathes the sweet air of the fields. There is no 
constant and frightful strain upon his mind. His nights are filled with 
sleep and rest. He watches his flocks and herds as they feed upon the 
green and sunny slopes. He hears the pleasant rain falling upon the 
waving corn, and the trees he planted in youth rustle above him as he 
plants others for the children yet to be." 

^ 4. ^ 

"No town can have a great to-morrow if it fails to commemorate its 
yesterdays. We in America are frequently careless of the past. We 
are thinking of the future, and so frequently allow our children to 
grow up ignorant of the great personalities and great deeds that have 
made our towns and our nation. In ancient Rome, when a boy became 
of age he was carried into the great hall of the house, where stood 
the statues of his forefathers, and there in the presence of those 
memorials he was invested with the garments of manhood. I hope 
our historical societies will be able to carry in coming years hundreds 
of young men into the presence of great events and great leaders of 
the past, and thus give them that intelligent devotion to the common 
good, which will create leaders in coming days." 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Portrait of Frank Smith Frontispiece 
Facing page 
The Boiling Spring, Springdale 

Avenue 2 

On the Banks of Charles River. . 3 

Residence of James C. Hopkins 8 

The Pokanoket Club 9 

Residence of Loren G. Du Bois 10 
Group of Sassafras Trees, Farm 

Street 11 

Residence of Dr. William T. 

Porter 12 

Residence of Edward W. Grew 13 

Residence of Charles F. Lyman 14 

Residence of Philip Gardner . . 15 

Residence of Ralph B. Williams 16 
Residence of Mrs. George D. 

Everett 17 

Cottage of Fred B. Rice 20 

Residence of the late Robert S. 

Minot 21 

Residence of Harry L. Rice .... 22 
Residence of Walter Channing, 

Jr 23 

Residence of Benjamin H. Dorr 24 

Residence of James W. Austin. . 25 

Residence of John C. Knowles . . 26 

Residence of Irving Colburn ... 27 

Residence of Corwin McDowell 30 

Residence of Arthur E. Davis . . 31 

The McGill House 34 

The Smith House, Smith Street 35 
Residence of Mrs. Roger N. 

Allen 40 

Residence of Mrs. Allen E. 

Battelle 41 

Residence of Charles S. Damrell 46 

Residence of James McGill 47 

vii 



Facing page 
Residence of Michael W. 

Comiskey 47 

Residence of J. Grant Forbes . . 48 
Residence of the late Elbridge L. 

Mann 49 

Residence of Robert K. Rogers 50 

Pine Grove, Centre Street 51 

Residence of George H. Thomp- 
son 54 

Residence of Allen F. Smith ... 55 

Residence of Charles Dickens . . 58 
The Josiah Draper House, 

Centre Street 59 

Residence of Winthrop A. 

Harvey 60 

The Norfolk Hunt Club 61 

Dover Common 68 

Doorway Whiting-Williams 

Tavern 69 

Residence of Miss Juliet B. 

Higginson 70 

Bungalow of Benjamin C. Tower 71 

Residence of Augustin H. Parker 72 
Residence of Dr. Francis B. 

Grinnell 7Z 

Residence of Frederic H. Curtiss 74 

Farm of Miss Alice M. Richards 75 

Residence of Philip C. Stanwood 76 

The Calvin Richards House 1875 77 

Residence of Hubbard C. Packard 78 

Residence of Charles S. Bean . . 79 

Residence of John Parkinson, Jr. 84 

Residence of Richard H. Bond. . 85 

The Clay Brook Road 88 

Residence of Charles M. Belden 89 
Residence of the late Benjamin 

N. Sawin 90 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Facing page Facing page 

Residence of Wm. Hewson The Tisdale Homestead, VVal- 

Baltzell 91 pole Street 113 

Residence of Wm. Hewson Farm of Horatio Hathaway, Jr. 118 

Baltzell 96 The Town Pound, Springdale 

Residence of George E. Chickcr- Avenue 119 

ing 97 Brooklet, Centre Street 127 

Residence of George D. Hall ... 112 Dam near Newell's Bridge 128 

Map 152 



Vlll 




DOVER FARMS 

The country wins me still : 
I never framed a wish, or formed a plan 
That flattered me with hope of earthly bliss, 
But there I laid the scene. 

— Cow per. 

HILE the town of Dedham was first settled in 1636, 
settlements were not generally made outside of the 
village until after King Philip's War, although a 
few residents had made their homes in what is now 
Dover previous to 1675. Much of the Dedham territory was conveyed 
to individuals in the first settlement of the town and grants of wood- 
land were made as early as 1644. Only two years later a free clay 
pit was opened in Dedham, and from the extensive use of this ma- 
terial by the early settlers one of the Dover brooks, — Clay brook — 
gets its name. On its banks brick was burned in the early settle- 
ment of Dover. "Dry herd-houses" where horses and cows not in 
milk and growing stock could be cared for during the summer, were 
early established. One of these houses, if we may trust tradition, 
was located as early as 1659 at Powissct, a location which is first 
referred to by name in 1662 in grants of land in the vicinity. As the 
Apostle Eliot tells us, this territory was a peculiar hunting ground of 
the Indians.* Over the plains and through the river valleys they 
chased the deer and the rabbit, and for many years arrow heads lost 
in the chase were turned out of the soil. As the Indians lived by 
hunting and fishing they did not use much planting ground, but on 
the plain of Powisset— Hathaway farm — they planted maize, beans, 
peas, and pumpkins, and on the farms on Charles river, of which 
the Davis estate on Glen street and the Smith farm on Smith street 
are good examples, they cured fish for winter use. The Natick 

•The Bronze Tablet on the Common was' dedicated to the memory of the Indians on January 
31, 1912. 



DOVER FARMS 

Indians, of whom the Pegans were members, lived along Charles 
river. Noanet, a local chief, dweU in the beautiful Noanet valley 
and set his weirs in the water at the mouth of Noanet brook. To 
this region the Indian long made pilgrimages to gather herbs for 
medicines which the white settlers had taught him how to use. With 
increasing herds this territory was used as a pasture field by the 
Dedham settlers previous to 1650. About this time settlements were 
made by James Draper (1656) in the west part of the town, Daniel 
Morse (1656) just across the river in Sherborn, Andrew Dewing 
(165-) on Charles river, near South Natick, followed later by John 
Bacon, Thomas Battle, Eleazer Ellis, and Nathaniel Chickering. 
Enterprising citizens among the Dedham settlers kept extending 
their borders westward, and early in the development of this territory 
we read of "David Wight's field," "Ralph Day's field," etc., which 
were probably the beginning of their family settlements in Dover. 
In this way farms were cleared in different parts of Dedham. The 
name, which was later given to this parish, is first spoken of in a 
grant of land in 1687 to Richard Ellis "at ye place called Spring- 
field." In 1732 the Dedham tax list was made up by parishes for 
the first time, and it is assumed that those who were assessed a poll 
tax in the Springfield Parish were living here at the time. It is 
deeply interesting to trace the development of Dover, and to locate 
the past as well as present residents, as each ancient site or dwelling 
has a story of its own. While many other persons owned land in the 
Springfield Parish the residents in 1732 were as follows: — 

Aaron Allen Benjamin Allen 

Eleazer Allen Hezekiah Allen 

Jonathan Battle, Jr. Nathaniel Battle 

John Bacon, Jr. John Bullard 

Michael Bacon Jonathan Bullard 

Nathaniel Bullard Elephalet Chickering 

Nathaniel Chickering Samuel Chickering 

John Draper, Jr. Joseph Draper 

Ralph Day Benjamin Ellis 

Eleazer Ellis Caleb Ellis 




The Spring, Springdale Avenue, from zvhich nu- Spnngneia 
Parish took its na?ne 




■-l 



'3 



DOVER FARMS 

Joshua Ellis Josiah Ellis 

Ebenezer Knapp Samuel Leach 

Seth Mason Jonathan Mason 

Seth Morse Ebenezer Robinson 

David Wight Jonathan Whiting 

Nathaniel Wilson Josiah Fisher 

Some of the land was called "common rights land," as the Dedham 
settlers adopted the Aryan custom of herding on common lands. In 
summer time cattle were cared for in the Colony by cow keepers, who 
were appointed for this work. In early transfers of real estate "cow 
common rights" were frequently spoken of in this parish. 

These homes were old fashioned New England country home- 
steads, which from the first settlement were scattered over the entire 
territory.* A few of these farmsf have remained in the hands of 
lineal descendants to the present time. Some of the houses still con- 
tain all those articles of ancient furniture which are so much sought 
to-day. All of these early homes had what is now so rapidly dis- 
appearing, the front yard, an idea brought over from Old England. 
These yards were fenced in and were the special domain of the 
women, and were kept and tended by them. Flowers were planted 
on either side of the path, leading up to the front door, which was 
used only on occasions of more or less ceremony. With the lapse of 
time many of the ideas and customs of the mother country have 
passed away, but "Time and distance never lessen the interest of a 
true child in the flowers that bloom in the garden where his mother 
walked and his father toiled." Every house had its tall old-fashioned 
clock, which ticked away the passing time. Many clocks are found 
in homes to-day, which have struck the hours for a century and a 
half, and bid fair to do so for as many years to come. 



♦Dedham originally had fonr parishes: First Parish, Dedham Centre; 
Second Parish. Norwood; Third Parish, Westwood; Fourth or Springfield 
Parish, Dover. 



tChicltering farm, Haven street; and Wilson farm, Wilsondale street. 



DOVER FARMS 

"Like visions in a magic glass, 
They see the generations pass." 

We know of no other town where so few houses show "the gnaw- 
ing tooth of time." Wherever a farm is now found, among the 
beautiful estates which have been developed in recent years, it is well 
kept with indications of thrift and prosperity. At first there was no 
travel save on foot, so the first settlers were literally "footers" who 
followed Indian trails. So long as the residents of the territory 
walked from place to place the matter of roads did not bother them, 
neither was it a serious question so long as they rode on horseback, 
but when wheeled vehicles came into use the rude cartways had to 
give place to highways, which made easier traveling than bridle paths 
and so in the course of time some of these trails and bridle paths 
were developed into thoroughfares over which the most modern con- 
veyances, the automobile, the bicycle, and trolley cars now pass. 
A reference is found in the Dedham Records in 1669 to "the Indian 
path from Natick to Dedham," which must have passed through 
Dover. In the history of our roads we trace the development of the 
town. "All creative action," says Horace Bushnell, "whether in govern- 
ment, industry, thought or religion, creates roads." 

Surely it is no idle task to locate and tell the story of these 
homes for future generations, because they represent so much in the 
past life of this community; a tale which, if fully told, would touch 
in many ways the national growth and development of our country. 
"The old gives place to the new, but something of the charm and 
value of the new is in the inheritance we derive from the former 
things." The early settlers were pioneers, and their lot was a hard 
one, even in Dedham. To build the first shelter in a new country is 
no easy task even to-day, but much more difficult a hundred and 
fifty years ago. These settlers were not only farmers but wood 
cutters as well. Ship timber was in demand and was sold in large 
quantities at Boston. Labor was incessant from one year's end to 
the other. With an ox team the farmer broke up the cleared field 
in the spring, and in the fall hauled away the rocks and stones with 
which to build stone walls. They were schooled through the hard 

4 



DOVER FARMS 

experiences of their daily lives, to improve their condition by un- 
remitting industry and frugality. Necessity forced them to husband 
every resource which the farm afforded and led to an intelligent 
administration of their affairs. Increased prosperity was always 
marked by the improvement in farm buildings. A successful farmer 
always had a neat and attractive house. The custom did not prevail 
here of building small houses and large barns, as it did in the 
northern New England states. These farmers, in establishing their 
homes, were often married in homespun with home-knit blue yarn 
stockings. They brought their wives home on horseback, riding 
before them on the pillion, as carriage roads were of later develop- 
ment. The best table cloth and towels had been woven by the hand 
of the bride from flax grown in her father's garden, while the patch- 
work quilts and comforters proved her industry with the needle. 
When, in brown home-spun petticoats, the children had been taught 
to pick up chips and trained almost from their infancy to some useful 
work, they had manual training, but nobody called it by that name. 
What stories the children of past generations used to hear, rivalling 
those in Whittier's "Snow Bound," of the Indian life on their farm at 
South Natick; of their hunting, fishing, and attempts at farming; of 
the roses which bloomed beside their doors and the flowers and plants 
they grew for medicines. The stories told of the hardships and 
dangers of their ancestors in King Philip's War and in the French 
and Indian Wars were of absorbing interest. There were soldiers 
of the Revolution living to tell stories of that great struggle as they 
gathered in the Williams tavern, as late as 1837. In the War of 
1812 many Dover farmers were engaged in teaming between Boston, 
New York and Philadelphia, and their experiences on the road were 
often related around the fireside on long winter evenings. This was 
an age of sociability, and the farmers frequently met at one another's 
homes for amusement and social intercourse. 

In this pioneer life there was little need of money, except in pay- 
ing taxes, as the farmer got his fuel, food and clothing by his own 
skill and labor. The few things needed for the household could be 
had in exchange for butter and eggs at the "West India goods store." 
The flock of sheep furnished wool for the family, and the garden flax 



DOVER FARMS 

tended by the busy housewife provided linen for their wear. Cord- 
wainers went from house to house and were truly "skilled workmen" 
in their handicraft. This trade was very common; at the time of 
the Revolution, there were five or six of the most prominent residents 
who followed this occupation in connection with farming in the 
Springfield Parish. Pigs were kept in large numbers in the early 
settlement of the town, and were always watching for a chance to 
break out and roam about, rooting up the gardens and pastures, so 
hogreeves were appointed to see that the pigs were properly yoked 
and had rings in their noses. In the early times pigs had to be 
guarded from the bears who were very fond of pig flesh, especially 
when it was butchered by themselves. The amusing incident is re- 
called of a hogreeve who one day was making some repairs on the 
Dover Meeting-house. A pig was roaming at large near by, when a 
Harvard student, who was said to "feel his oats," chancing to pass by 
entered a complaint. The hogreeve saw how hopeless it would be for 
him to attempt to catch the pig alone, and so he pressed the young 
man into the service as a deputy. Through the heat and dust of a 
summer day they chased the pig over walls, under fences and 
through the fields, until the pig was captured through sheer exhaus- 
tion and the student went his way a wiser man. A little wheat was 
raised on these early farms, which was highly prized by the family, 
but the staples were Indian corn, rye, oats and barley. The wheat 
was ground and sifted into several grades at the nearest mill.* 
Vegetables were raised with two purposes in view; namely, the family 
and the cattle. In winter a "beef critter" was slaughtered, and much 
of the meat was frozen and eaten fresh, while the remainder was 
salted down for the "biled dinner." A year's supply of salt pork 
and lard was put in. This food supply was supplemented during 
the year with the flesh of fowls raised on the farm. Before the build- 
ing of dams on Charles river there were fording places where farmers 
gathered in the spring of the year large quantities of salmon, shad 
and herring. Such a fording place existed in the west part of the 
town, above Farm bridge, near where Mr. Minot's boat house stands. 

•South Acton, Mass. 



DOVER FARMS 

The Dover farmers were an intelligent, happy, contented class, meet- 
ing the poet's contention: 

Happy the man whose wish and care 

A few paternal acres bound. 
Content to breathe his native air 

On his own ground : 
Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread, 

Whose flocks supply him with attire, 
Whose trees in summer yield him shade, 

In winter fire. 

^ ^ ^ 

FARM STREET extends from the Medtield line on the south to 
Springdale park, on the north, and is the second oldest road in 
town.* This street as at present laid out, forms only a part of the 
original layout, which followed Indian trails and extended from 
Medfield to the Indian settlement at South Natick including Farm, 
Main, and Pleasant streets. In the early time this road went around 
by the picturesque Polka rock (on the farm of George Battelle) 
which was called for a man by that name, of whom it is remembered, 
that amid the superstitions of the age he thought he saw his Satanic 
Majesty as he was riding on horseback by this secluded spot. The 
location has long been looked upon as one in which treasures are 
hid, but why anyone should go so far inland to hide treasures has 
never been told; however, there has been at times unmistakable 
evidence of considerable digging in the immediate vicinity of this 
rock. On the abandoned part of this road James Draper had his 
estate, which was the beginning of farm settlements in the west part 
of Dover. This was the first road named in town. More than 
thirty years ago John Battelle had a board placed on the walnut tree 
in the Barber pasture, near the junction of Farm and Bridge streets, 
bearing the name Farm street, which was later adopted by the town. 
To get a clear idea of the origin and development of Dover roads 
one must remember that they were primarily developed by the 

*No attempt has been made to include all houses to date. It Is believed, 
however, that every settlement previous to 1900, together with a notice of 
many additions in recent years, has been described in these pages. 



DOVER FARMS 

Dedham settlers for the purpose of reaching this territory, and the 
Indian settlement beyond. The oldest road in town is the one which 
led from Dedham to South Natick, and was made up wholly or in 
pa^-t of the following streets: Wilsondale street; Strawberry Hill 
street; Dedham street; Cross street; Centre street; and the Clay 
Brook road. When the residents in later years commenced to develop 
Dover roads it was with an eye singly to Boston, which was the 
centre of all trade for their .ship timber, bark, wood, charcoal, corn, 
rye and pork. 

OBED HARTSHORN'S* farm was settled at the time of his 

marriage in 1790. The site on which the first house was built is 
said to have been purchased from James Arcules, a colored man. 
Obed Hart.shorn married Sarah, daughter of Jonathan Wight, and 
the larger part of his farm belonged to the Wight estate which origin- 
ally covered a large area, including much land in Medfield and 
Dover. Mr. Hartshorn was a blacksmith and carried on this im- 
portant trade in connection with his farm. The blacksmith shop 
remained standing until recent years. It stood on the west side of 
the road south of the barn. In the early days of our country it was 
the scene of many a neighborhood di.scussion of vital and important 
questions, as has always been the habit of Yankees wherever as- 
sembled. With the flight of time new modes of thought, feelings and 
habits have arisen with the people of the town. The remarkable 
healthfulness of Dover as a place of permanent residence is illus- 
trated by the longevityf of this family. Mr. Hartshorn died in his 
82nd year, while Mrs. Hartshorn lived to be 99 years, 4 months and 
19 days. Of their children,- — who continued to dwell on the ances- 
tral farm, — Obed lived to be 78 years old, while Sally his sister died 
in her 85th year. Stillman J. Spear established a printing business 
here, which he later moved to Medfield. The original house on this 

*The names of the original settlers on the old farms are given in capitals 
thi'oughout this work. 

tOn the Allen farm on Centre street, Mrs. Eleazer Allen, Jr., lived to be 
98 years old, while John A. Newell, who lived on an adjoining farm (Harvey- 
estate), died at the advanced age of 91 years. In every section of the town 
scores of people have lived to an advanced age. 

8 




"^ 






JDOVER FARMS 

estate, since its purchase by James C. Hopkins, has been moved to 
Junction street. Mr. Hopkins has erected here, not far from the 
site of the lirst homestead, a most picturesque and charming house. — 
Obed Hartshorn, Jr.* 

JOHN PEPPELOW'S house lot is marked by the noble elms on 
Mr. Welch's place. The house was very old when removed in 1869. 
John Peppelow lirst appeared in Dedham in 1761, and the next year 
sold land on Farm street to John Cheney. It is believed that he 
soon after built his house here. His name appears in a list of 
persons who attended Baptist meetings in Mediield in 1771, but 
there is no evidence that he ever resided in that town. He was living 
Here as late as 1792. Mr. Peppelow represented a class of men who 
were very common in the olden time when additional laborers were 
needed on every farm in the busy season of the year. This irregular 
employment yielded an uncertain and scant living, which was eked 
out by the cultivation of a little land and by chopping a little wood. 
This class entirely disappeared from the town soon after the close 
of the Civil War, and their little houses have also disappeared. 
They have escaped, however, "the poverty that waited upon irregular 
employment and the town is relieved of a class that always was on 
the verge of destitution." 

William T. Welch's house was built in 1858 by JOHN W. 
SHUMWAY, who was a carpenter by trade. He abandoned his 
trade in 1867 and took a position in the Rhode Island Reform School. 
Mr. Shumway was a good sportsman and with John Battelle, Albert 
L. Smith, and Abraham Bigelow, kept his fox hound. These fol- 
lowers of the hound used to have good hunting in the winter time 
for foxes and white rabbits. Davis C. Mills of Needham and Orin 
Wight of Medfield often joined them, and when their dogs packed, 
as they sometimes would, it was the music of the age. The dogs of 
1850 were far superior to the fox hounds of to-day. Abraham Bige- 
low trapped and shot otters, mink, and musk-rats in the fall and 



*The names preceded by the dash are of individuals connected with th« 
history of the town, but not otherwise mentioned. 

9 



DOVER FARMS 

winter seasons with great success ; he used to set traps down the river 
as far as Charles River Village, and it is remembered that one 
night he caught forty-seven musk-rats. He once killed at one shot 
two minks and fourteen musk-rats that were sunning on a hassock. 
Mr. Bigelow was a good shot and the leading hunter in the town. 
Soon after Mr. Shumway's removal the place went into other hands, 
and in the years that have passed it has had many owners, most of 
whom have had but a transient residence here. 

JOHN SHUMWAY, SENIOR, married in 1813 a daughter of 
Amos Wight, and the tract of land on which he built (Pokanoket 
Club)* was originally a part of his father-in-law's estate. He came 
here from Killingly, Conn., and erected the first buildings on this 
farm the year of his marriage. Mr Shumway was a descendant of 
the French Huguenots, and was the first person, not of English 
descent, to permanently settle in Dover. In the spring of the year 
the wood pile was always in evidence here. In the winter when the 
ground was covered with snow Mr. Shumway sledded up, as did 
other farmers of the town, great piles of wood and logs, which were 
worked up as spring approached. The oak and hickory, with pine 
wood for kindlings, were carefully housed for winter use in the adjoin- 
ing woodshed, while black alder and witch hazel were cut up for 
summer use. The beetle and wedges were called into frequent use in 
working up apple-tree and other hard woods which developed the back 
and muscles of many a country boy. The splitting log and chopping 
block had seen long service and daily, as soon as the school closed in 
the spring, had a boy behind each one. The original barn on this 
farm was moved from the Perry estate in Medfield, but was burned 
some years since.— Amos W. Shumway, Amos W. Shumway, Jr.f 

*The Pokanoket Club House is surrounded by extensive grounds of 
more than a hundred acres, with a tennis court and ball Held. While a 
goodly number of young men make their permanent home here, the club has 
drawn others until it has a considerable outside membership. 



tin the years before the establishment of Beef Trusts there were local 
butchers in this and surrounding towns who did their own slaughtering. In 
the years that have passed slaughter houses have been located on the farm* 
of Amos W Shumway and George Battelle, on Farm street; Draper Smith, 

10 




^ 



^ 



^ 



-e^i 



!] O 



DOVER FARMS 

WALTER P. HENDERSON built in 1907, for his own occupancy, 
an attractive cottage, which is located in the northwesterly part of the 
apple orchard where John Shumway planted his Peck's pleasar>ts, 
Rhode Island greenings, Williams apples, early and late Sops-ot- 
wine, and Orange sweetings. Mr. Henderson's house well illustrates 
what architecture can do in producing inexpensive modern homes. 

AMOS WIGHT settled in Dover on the farm owned by his great- 
grandson, George Battelle, at the time of his marriage in 1790. This 
farm was for many years the scene of much activity. Jonathan 
Battelle, Jr., had a store here, which supplied the surrounding country 
with West India goods; he carried on in connection a beef and pork 
packing business. The set of copper liquid measures used by Mr. 
Battelle in his store are still in excellent preservation, together with 
many other home and farm articles which are of great interest to the 
present generation. Oliver Clifford and Joseph A. Smith succeeded 
Mr. Battelle in the slaughtering business. Later this activity in 
business was kept up by George Battelle, who carried on for some 
years a flourishing trade in grain and farm supplies in connection 
with his farm. Mr. Battelle started in this business as the purchasing 
agent of the Dover Grange. John Battelle had here what was so 
common on early farms, the fenced-in vegetable garden, which was 
protected from intruding cattle. Here, year after year, asparagus and 
rhubarb were gathered in the spring, here the low bush bean and the 
pole bean were planted, here tomatoes, squashes, melons and cucumbers 
grew, and in carefully prepared beds were sown lettuce, radishes, 

on Smith street; John Reed, on Dedham street; Hezeklah Allen, on Pegan 
street; John Chickering, on Haven street; Jabez Baker, on Dedham street; 
Elbrldge L. Mann, on Main street, and Calvin Richards, on Strawberry hill. 
Before the decline of this business, butchers' carts were driven Into Dover 
from Medfield, Natick and Needham, to supply the inhabitants with meat. 
Aaron Bacon and Benjamin N. Sawin engaged in pig killing, and went, at 
the call of farmers, from house to house in the slaughtering season. They 
carried with them the scalding tub and the paraphernalia required by the 
business. Messrs. Bacon and Sawin were succeeded by John McClure, who 
engaged in this business for several years. Fish carts irregularly visited 
the town, as sales depended entirely upon the supply in the market. If fish 
was high, it did not find a sale among the farmers of the town. Some carts 
were well supplied, in the season, with pineapples, lemons, cocoanuts and 
other tropical fruits; in fact this was the only source of supply for these 
things. 11 



DOVER FARMS 

beets, onions, turnip, peppers, parsnips and strawberry tomatoes. In 
a corner of the garden grew the fragrant herbs, sage and thyme, 
which were used for seasoning purposes, while pear and peach trees 
were planted around the outer edges. Here were grown on enormous 
cherry trees the luscious black heart cherries which were known to 
every boy in the neighborhood. The present homestead has been 
recently divided and the house which was built in 1813 remodeled 
after the southern colonial style by its present owner, L. G. DuBois, 
who has named it Westerham. 

GEORGE BATTELLE has recently built two houses on the 
northerly part of the original farm, one of which is occupied by him- 
self and the other by his son, Winfred W. Battelle. The house on the 
hill, used by farm help, was constructed from the ell of the old house, 
which was moved to its present position a few years since. The uni- 
versal law of supply and demand as regulating the price of com- 
modities is well illustrated by an entry in Amos Wight's ledger made 
in 1791,* when beef was sold at 2^d. a pound and tallow at 6d. 
Beef was not largely used, while tallow was in great demand for 
candles. 

Dr. William T. Porter's house was built by JOSEPH A. SMITH 
in 1844. At this time Mr. Smith was in the provision business, with 
carts on the road, His place of business was located on his father's 
farm, on Smith street, where a slaughter house and such other build- 
ings as the business demanded were erected. Here Abraham Bigelow, 
in the years preceding the Civil War, engaged with his sons in the 
manufacture of shoes.f A little shop was built which adjoined the 

♦The price of different articles at this time, was as follows: Mutton, 3d. 
a pound; veal, 2i^d.; lamb, 2i4d.; cheese, Ti^d.; potatoes, 14d. a bushel; 
beans, 6s.; corn, 4s.; cider, 5s. a barrel; sheepskins, 3s.; a day's work, 3s.; 
oak wood, per cord, 12s.; use of a yoke of oxen per day, Is. 6d.; horse to 
Boston, 4s. 2d.; horse to Framingham, (12m.), 3s.; horse to Needham, Is. 

tAmong those who engaged at this time in making shoes In little shops, 
or improvised quarters, may be mentioned Frederick H. Wight, Leonard 
Draper, HoUis Mann, Rufus Campbell, David E. Allen. John M. Brown, John 
Q. A. Nichols, John Adams, Silas Bacon, Harrison Hooker, James Chlcker- 
ing, Frank Bigelow, George Markham, Henry Goulding, Timothy Guy and 
Eleazer A. Battelle. 

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DOVER FARMS 

barn. The prepared stock was procured from the manfacturers at 
Natick, where it had been cut out by pattern, the seams closed, and 
then put out to have the soles pegged on, the heels nailed, and the 
boot or shoe otherwise finished ready for the market. As Mrs. 
Abraham Bigelow had reared a large family of children, she was often 
consulted in cases of family illness, and her timely suggestions and 
good advice were greatly appreciated by mothers of less experience. 
Families used a good deal of common sense and some home remedies 
before driving, perhaps at night in the midst of winter, five miles for 
the nearest doctor. — George Bigelow. 

JOSEPH A. COPELAND bought in 1866 the store of Noah A. 
Fiske, where he sold for many years groceries* and New England rum 
to the residents of the vicinity. Farmers a hundred and twenty-five 
years ago were given to barter, as there was but little money in cir- 
culation. Continental money became valueless and large tracts of real 
estate were lost to owners through sales in which continental money 
was received in payment. "Not worth a continental" was a saying 
that had a deep significance to the people of this town. It is said 
that Boston was in 1779 "on the verge of starvation; money transac- 
tions had nearly ceased and business was done by barter." Mr. Cope- 
land converted the store into a dwelling house. Since its purchase a 
few years ago by Dr. William T. Porter the house has been greatly 
improved. 

EDWARD W. GREW built in 1907, on a tract of land,t which 

♦After the establishment, In 1817, of Balch's bakery in Medfleld, bread 
and cake were on sale at Dover stores. Later a baker's cart passed 
through the town for many years, on Wednesday and Saturday. Carts from 
Dedham and Natick also served the centre of the town. With the exten- 
sion of cooking stoves, the use of prepared yeast, and the cheapne.<!S of flour, 
the demand for baker's stuff gradually diminished, and before 1875 baker's 
carts had entirely disappeared, and the baker's seed cakes, ginger cakes, 
sugar cakes and lemon cakes are now only a memory. 

tin the surrounding fields a half century ago were gathered each year 
several hundred bushels of blueberries, which were sold In the Boston mar- 
ket. Often thirty or forty pickers would invade the fields at a time, pre- 
ceding the market days of Frederick H. Wight, George D. Everett and 
Sumner Allen. The gathered berries were purchased, or marketed on com- 
mission, by these dealers, who did a flourishing business during the summer 
months In the selling of butter, eggs and small fruits. 

13 



DOVER FARMS 

was for many years a part of the Nathaniel Fiske farm, a brick and 
stone house which is a notable addition to the beautiful residences 
of the town. It is an interesting fact that so many beautiful estates 
are being developed in Dover. The life now lived by people in 
modern cities, said the late Dr. Alfred R. Wallace, is absolutely false, 
not false in that it is not true, or that it is deliberately deceitful, but 
false in the fact that it is not the life conducive to human happiness. 
I believe that a strong reaction is setting in toward a return to more 
healthful conditions, and in order to obtain them the city must be 
abandoned. 

Charles F. Lyman owns the beautiful farm situated on the top of 
the next hill, a part of which once belonged to JOHN WIGHT, 
who owned several places in the Springfield Parish. He sold an 
acre of land here with the buildings in 1774 to Moses Mason, 
who cleared and developed this farm. The place was purchased by 
Nathaniel Fiske of Holliston in 1797, and continued many years in 
the Fiske family. We trace in the colonial life of our fathers their 
great fondness for England, the home of their forefathers. Even to 
this day the upland or cultivated grass is spoken of as "English grass," 
in distinction from the meadow or native grass. In this way their 
cultivated grains were called "English grains," because the seed had 
been brought from the mother land. On this farm English leeks 
still grow upon the rocks, or did when last visited by the writer, 
which have been growing here through many generations and bear 
silent witness to the love and affection which the owners had for 
England. Here was found one of the old-fashioned flower gardens 
with its wealth of hardy flowers. For half a century all the drinking 
water for the West School was drawn from a vtell just above the 
garden on the Fiske farm, and many were the flowers that "Aunty 
Fiske" gave the children who came for pails of water, together with 
sprigs of the aromatic fennel, which grew nearby. Many of the chil- 
dren had been first dressed by "Aunty Fiske." Being the daughter 
of a physician— Dr. Mann of Med field — her services were in great 
demand, and for many years she was present when ever the birth- 
angel visited the home of a neighbor. Here was found in a sunny spot 
the first crocus and snowdrops of the spring. Yellow daffodils came 

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DOVER FARMS 

next, with ladies' delights, China pinks and poppies of various 
colors, followed by a succession of peonies, Canterbury bells, gilly 
flowers, petunias, bachelor's-buttons, balsams, old maid and velvet 
marigolds, asters, foxglove, larkspur, four o'clocks. Sweet Mary, boys' 
love, fever- few, coreopsis, polyanthus, lily of the valley. Sweet - 
William, white phlox, snapdragon, mourning bride, verbena, and 
hollyhocks. Mrs. Nathaniel Fiske is recalled as one who went to 
the small-pox hospital and was inoculated for small-pox. As a knowl- 
edge of hygiene has increased, the old epidemics of small-pox and 
other plagues, which used to sweep over the land periodically, carry- 
ing off hundreds and thousands of human beings, no longer molest 
the world, save where ignorance still prevails and the laws of health 
are violated. — Amaziah Bullen. 

J. Story Fay, 3rd, now owns the farm which shows near the road 
an old cellar hole, which marks the spot of the first house. This place 
originally belonged to ELIAS HAVEN,* who was killed at the Battle 
of Lexington. He bought the land of John Cheney in 1767, and is 
believed to have built here the same year. His widow sold the place, 
in 1790, to Moses Bullen. Elias Haven was Dedhani's only Minute 
Man killed at the Battle of Lexington. His ashes rest under the 
monument erected at Arlington near the spot where he and others 
fell. The present house was built by A. R. Tuck in 1877. 



*A recent English writer, the Right Honorable Sir George Otto Tre- 
velyan, thus speaks of the Battle at Lexington and Concord: "The minute 
men of Dedham, encouraged by the presence of a company of veterans who 
had fought in the French wars, spent but not wasted the time that was 
required to hear a prayer from their clergyman, as they stood on the green 
In front of the church steps. Then they started on their way, leaving the 
town almost literally without a male inhabitant before the age of seventy 
and above that of sixteen. Carrying guns which had been used In old Indian 
battles, and headed by drums which had beaten at Louisburg, they covered 
the hillsides and swarnied among the enclosures and coppices in such num- 
bers that it seemed to their adversaries as if men had dropped from the 
clouds." 



NOTE. — At the top of the hill on the right, before crossing Fisher's 
brook, may be seen a field stone, which marks the spot where Thomas Bur- 
ridge dropped dead in 1799, while working on the road. This spot has 
appealed for a century to the imagination of the boys and girls who daily 
passed this way to school. 

15 



DOVER FARMS 

WARREN BLACKMAN built the house owned by the late Charles 
Williams in 1885. The land belonged to Henry Goulding and was 
inherited by Mrs. Blackman from her father's estate. Just east of 
this house was located the first schoolhouse in the west part of the 
town. It was built in 1785, and now forms a part of the dwelling 
house on Smith street, built by John Plimpton about 1800, where it 
was moved when a new schoolhouse was built, in 1858. The second 
schoolhouse stood on the present grounds of the West School, just in 
the rear of the group of walnut trees which stand near the Farm street 
driveway. 

SETH MASON'S homestead, (Philip Gardner estate), lately 
owned by Benjamin Kenrick, is the oldest of the Mason settlements 
in Dover. With its extensive orchard, which was planted by Dea. 
John Kenrick, it is one of the most attractive farms in Dover. It is 
an interesting fact that when the Emperor of Brazil, traveling in 
this Country as Don Pedro, visited Boston with his wife about 1868, 
they were driven through Dover by the late Mollis H. Hunnewell of 
Wellesley. The Emperor greatly admired the apple orchard on this 
farm, which is still in a very flourishing condition. The Mason 
family owned extensive tracts of land, especially in the west and 
southwest parts of the town. Mrs. Seth Mason went weekly, for 
many years, to the Boston market with her saddle bags filled with 
provisions which she sold to sea captains fitting out for sea voyages. 
Seth Mason was a resident of the parish in 1732, but for how many 
years previous is unknown. Farmers at this time had little money. 
Some of them gathered less than a hundred dollars a year. Every- 
thing was traded out, and there were few, if any, cash sales. The wife 
was expected to sell butter and eggs enough to clothe herself and the 
children, and this was often done. After the first plowing, all the 
work in the garden was done by the women folks, who also milked 
the cows and made the butter and cheese. The farmer often raised 
his own meat and cured it himself. A smoke house was not uncommon 
on a farm. A century since, every farmer owned a yoke of well- 
matched oxen, together with a yoke or two of steers, which were used 
in carrying on the general fann work. Fifty years ago thirty farmers 
were taxed for oxen here, while to-day not a yoke of oxen is owned in 

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DOVER FARMS 

Dover. In the years that have passed the town boasted several traders, 
of whom Jabez Baker, Bela Bullen and George Cleveland are recalled, 
who earned a living by trading in oxen and cows. For many years 
there were public market places at East Cambridge, Brighton and 
Watertown, where farmers and traders bought, sold and exchanged 
live stock, — cows, oxen, sheep and swine. Many farmers went to 
Brighton every Wednesday, the general market day. The driving of 
cattle from the Brighton market was made a business, and for many 
years droves of cattle passed through the town every Wednesday even- 
ing on the way to Rhode Island, and towns south. In those days gates 
and fences were maintained with great care on every farm to keep 
these strange cattle out. Farmers were fond of their animals, and 
seldom abused or ill-treated them. Perhaps the ox was their favorite, 
but even the pig did not escape their attention. It is said that Daniel 
Webster had a passion for a good ox-team and often on his return from 
Washington paid his oxen a visit before entering the house. At the 
west of Mr. Kenrick's orchard was a hard wood grove, where school 
and district picnics were sometimes held, especially on the Fourth of 
July. On such occasions the entire district turned out and the gather- 
ing was of great value and interest; all met on terms of equality, and 
many renewed acquaintances of half a century's standing. In this age 
of commercialism there is too little neighborhood sociability. — John 
Mason, Seth Mason, Jr. 

GEORGE D. EVERETT'S house was built in 1860, on land which 
was originally a part of the James Draper estate. Mr. Everett was a 
lineal descendant of James Draper, and this part of the Draper farm 
was never out of the ownership of the family since its settlement in 
1656, until purchased by Mr. Ralph B. Williams in 1909. Mr. 
Williams has added to the farm by purchase and has a beautiful 
estate. Here Mr. Everett had his grocery store, and in connection 
carried on a grain and general market business. Opposite his house 
on the north side of the road was erected the "Liberty pole," from 
which a flag was floated on the occasion of every Union victory during 
the entire period of the Civil War. Since the first agitation of 
"Woman's Rights" there have been those in Dover who have taken a 

17 



DOVER FARMS 

lively interest in the subject, although previous to a short time since 
there has been no organized effort in this direction. Forty years ago 
public lectures were frecjuently given on "Woman's Rights." One of 
the earliest advocates of equal rights was Mrs. Martha A. P. Everett, 
who for many years represented the followers here in State and district 
conventions. These meetings, as Ida M. Tarbell has so well said, left 
unmoved and unconvinced the great body of American women, who 
kept at their business of making homes, rearing families, supporting 
society and the church and looking after the education of themselves 
and their children. 

Benjamin Kenrick occupies a house that was built by WILLIAM 
BELL in 1899, on land taken from the fann of Asa Talbot, and is of 
interest as a part of the original James Draper estate. On these old 
farms the discipline was fine for boys and girls, as every day brought 
its duties that must be done before sunset. On all farms where there 
were girls in school, one of the duties on stonny days, especially after 
a snow storm, was "to go for the school children." How well we re- 
member the array of teams that stood at the schoolhouse door when the 
school was dismissed on such evenings. Boys who had no sisters in 
school had either to walk or catch a ride. The kindness of fanners in 
taking in, to the full capacity of their conveyances, the children of the 
neighborhood is gratefully remembered. 

Chester A. Hanchett's farm was a part of the estate owned by 
James Draper, the "Puritan" who first settled in Roxbury, but later 
came to Dedham, where he had children born to him as early as 
1656. He is believed to have settled here about that time. It is 
pleasant to contemplate that we still have farms that were once occu- 
pied by Puritans whose feet had trodden the ways and byways of old 
England. Mr. Draper's house was located at the extreme southerly 
part of his farm, on a lot bounded south by the Medfield line. 
Although James Draper was a weaver by trade, he cultivated the soil 
as did the other settlers, which was the most natural thing for them 
to do. With their cultivated fields and the abundance of wild game 
they soon lived better than they did in England. The fowling-piece 
was found in every home, and when used often brought down several 

18 



DOVER FARMS 

birds at a time, because it scattered the shot. In 1688 Mr. Draper 
sold his farm, which consisted of 216 acres, to his son John, which 
was bounded "on the north by Natick and on the south by Medfield," 
with the timber and buildings thereon. He seems to have taken up his 
residence permanently in Roxbury after the sale of his farm, where he 
was made a freeman in 1690. JOSEPH DRAPER built on the site 
of the Hanchett house about 1759, and the farm remained in the hands 
of lineal descendants of James Draper until 1881, when it was pur- 
chased by Chester A. Hanchett. — Joseph Draper, Jr., Michael Draper, 
Alexander Soule. 

John Draper, Jr., had a house on the opposite side of the road from 
the Hanchett farm, where he was living in 1762. This was also a part 
of the original Draper homestead; the house was probably built by 
his grandfather, JOHN DRAPER. The cellar was filled in by Asa 
Talbot, who located it about two hundred feet from the road and west 
of his driveway. When this house was raised the day probably closed 
with a wrestling match. At that time the young men were light of 
limb and strong of muscle. James Draper, a son of James Draper 
the "Puritan," who spent his youthful days on this fann, died from 
the effects of a May day wrestling match in West Roxbury. May 
day, after the English custom, was kept as a festival; a Maypole was 
set up, around which wrestling, pitching quoits, and other games were 
kept up. On such a day a person appeared, claiming to be champion 
of the ring, challenging any who might choose to enter the ring 
with him. A number accepted, but he threw them all with so much 
ease that there was no one left to compete with him. Pretty soon 
inquiries were made for James Draper and remarks to the effect that 
he would be a match for the champion were heard. Pretty soon he was 
seen coming on horseback with his wife behind him. The crowd 
urged him to descend and try a bout with the stranger. At first he 
declined, but he was almost taken from his saddle, his wife hanging 
on to his coat as long as she could. He met his antagonist in the ring, 
and at the word laid him on his back. The cry of unfair was set up, 
and he tried again, and at the word the stranger was once more laid 
on his back by the stalwart James, but in doing this a second time he 

19 



DOVER FARMS 

broke a sinew in his leg, from which he never recovered. He was 
carried back to his house, but was never able to go out again, and died 
in the forty-fifth year of his life. — John Draper. 

Asa Talbot's farm was originally a part of the Burridge place, the 
nucleus of which was purchased by Thomas Burridge of Newton in 
1759. The house was built by WILLARD MANN in 1831, when 
the farm was divided. Here Mr. Talbot carried on a milk business, 
and in the early years of his residence made baskets. Bees were kept 
on this, as well as on many other farms, which furnished not only 
a supply of the purest honey, but the comb from which the housewife 
made the beeswax used in every household. In the early settlement 
excursions were often made in search of bee-trees, which often yielded 
quantities of honey, which was used not only for domestic purposes 
but in feeding the home bees as well. 

THOMAS BURRIDGE* settled the farm, recently known as the 
Bartlett estate, in 1765. He was a weaver by trade, and a brother of 
Samuel Burridge of Newton, who married a daughter of John Draper, 
whose farm adjoined. This estate was originally made up of two lots 
aggregating thirty-one acres. The house lot of two acres was located 
then, as now, on the north side of the road. The original Burridge 
homestead was sold by Obed Burridge to Simeon and James Mann 
in 1810. Nine years later Simeon Mann became the sole owner of the 
estate, which was later divided and owned by his two sons. Willard 
had the Talbot farm, while Leland had the original homestead. Here, 
while owned by Linus Bliss, was located his first cigar shop. After 
a few years the shop was moved and placed on the north side 
of Springdale park. Here several of Mr. Bliss's sons were brought 
up to the trade, which they have since continued in this and other 
towns. When owned by Mr. Cotton about 1840, a bakery was set up 
here, which was in operation for several years, supplying families and 
stores in adjoining towns with baker's stuff. — Obed Burridge, Micajah 
S. Plummer, Eben Higgins, Sr., Albert Bartlett. 

*In the absence of definite records, the date of a settler's marriage has 
been given as the year of his settlement. 

20 




Cottage of Mr. Fred B. Rice. Farm settled in 176^ 




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DOVER FARMS 

ROBERT S. MINOT completed his mansion house, "Quisisana," 
in 1901. The name is Italian, and means "Here one is well." It 
was named after a hotel, formerly a private villa, in Castellamare, 
Italy, overlooking the Bay of Naples, where Mr. Minot was a guest in 
1880. This house does not stand on land which was originally a part 
of the Burridge estate. 

JOHN WIGHT had a small farm here on the south side of the 
road in 1771, with "house, barn, and corn barn," which was later 
absorbed by the Burridge estate. The site of the Wight house has 
not been fixed, but there is evidence, on the west side of Miller hill, of 
a house having been located there at an early time. History repeats 
itself, and after a century and a half Harry L. Rice has built a fine 
country house near this old homestead. 

JOHN CHICKERING originally settled the farm of the late Pat- 
rick Slavin in 1767. Perhaps the first effort in this town to supply 
farm buildings with running water was made when John Chickering 
sold in 1798 the right for $10, to John Brown, William Pitt Allen and 
Calvin Allen, to take water from the spring, which has since supplied 
the farms which belonged to these gentlemen with water. The privilege 
was given "to dig a ditch, lay logs or pipes for the use of their dwelling 
houses and to water their cattle." In 1798 Mr. Chickering sold this 
farm and moved to Strawberry hill. John Miller lived here at one 
time, and the beautiful hill at the south was named for his family. A 
blacksmith's shop was located on this farm for some years while 
owned by Lyman Chamberlain. Fred B. Rice purchased this estate, 
in 1913, for his own occupancy. — John Burridge, Aaron Bacon. 

Mrs. Augusta Higbee's estate was once a part of the Hezekiah Allen 
farm. In 1747 Mr. Allen sold land consisting of forty acres on the 
south side of the road to his son, Hezekiah Allen, Jr., with half 
an acre on the north side of the road "in such form as will be 
suitable for a house lot." The barn was built on the south side of 
the road, nearly opposite the house, which stood near the old well, 
which can still be seen. John Brown, who owned adjoining land, had 

21 



DOVER FARMS 

in connection with his farm a grist mill, which was located near the 
source of Trout book. The supply of water, however, was inadequate, 
and one of the mill buildings was moved from the site to this farm 
and remodeled into a house by JOHN A. ROWLAND in 1829. 
This house was removed in 1906 when Mrs. Higbee built her mansion. 
Mr. Howland first occupied the land on the south side of the road as 
a separate farm. Many waves of silk culture have passed over this 
country since the establishment of the colonies. One swept over 
Massachusetts in 1836, when the legislature enacted a law for the 
encouragement of the cultivation of silk, giving a bounty of one dollar 
for every pound of silk raised from cocoons. This bounty stimulated 
the culture of silk-worms, and here was tried by Airs. Dix the experi- 
ment of raising silk-worms. The white mulberry tree, on the leaves 
of which the silk-worms fed, is still standing. A daughter of Mr. 
Bailey Cobb recalls the fact that when she lived here as a girl, in 
order to take the public conveyance into Boston, she was obliged to 
rise at 4 o'clock and take a hasty breakfast. Now a resident of Dover 
can take a morning train about 8 o'clock and be in Boston in half an 
hour. — Bailey Cobb, Abner L. Smith. 

HEZEKIAH ALLEN, JR.'S house lot was the nucleus of the Proc- 
tor farm (which has been absorbed by the Dorr estate). Mr. Allen 
built here in 1749. The cellar hole of his house can still be seen just 
west of the site of the Proctor house, which was removed by Mr. Dorr 
in 1906. This old cellar hole reminds one of what Thoreau says of 
a cellar: "Under the most splendid house is still to be found the cellar 
where they store their roots as of old, and long after the superstructure 
has disappeared posterity remarks its dent in the earth. The house is 
still but a sort of porch at the entrance of a burrow." The story is 
still recalled, by members of the Allen family, how the wolves came 
down from Pegan hill one Sunday afternoon and attacked the sheep 
on this farm, which had been left to roam while the family was 
attending church at Natick. This place was long in the Allen family, 
being occupied for many years by Ebenezer Smith, Jr., whose wife was 
Rebecca Allen. Mr. Smith's son, Melancthon, in leaving home as a 
boy, walked into Boston, where he sought employment, with his clothes 

22 



DOVER FARMS 

tied up in a bundle handkerchief. In later years he established the 
firm of Smith & Sumner, the successful wholesale silk merchants of 
Boston. — Joseph Smith, Perez Allen, Wm. Pitt Allen, Calvin Allen, 
Ebenezer Smith, David E. Allen. 

Samuel M. Colcord's farm was the home of SAMUEL METCALF, 
who moved here from IMedway in 1742. As far as known he was the 
first occupant of this farm, although it is a tradition that it was pre- 
viously owned by a member of the Mason family. Here was a wheel- 
wright's shop, in connection with the farm, where Samuel Metcalf, Jr., 
was brought up to the trade; he subsequently settled in Boston. 
John Brown lived here, and being a thrifty farmer, it was for many 
years the scene of much business activity. This beautiful farm, now 
called "Hillcrest," is owned by Benjamin H. Dorr, who has in his 
possession one of the finest old time estates in the county. The orig- 
inal settlers in this town showed the spirit which animated the first 
adventurers on these New England shores. They were men of worth, 
distinguished alike for enterprise, intelligence and love of liberty; 
above all they were religious men, as the founding of their institutions 
shows. Samuel Metcalf headed the petition made to the General Court 
in 1748, asking for the incorporation of the Dover First Parish. — 
Nathan Metcalf, Mason Brown, Albion K. Howe, Capt. John 
Humphrey. 

ALBION K. HOWE remodeled his carpenter's shop in 1859, con- 
verting it into a dwelling house, which was occupied by his brother- 
in-law, John M. Brown. Mr. Brown was a good sportsman and was 
interested in bird hunting with Abraham Bigelow and his sons, E. 
Barton Bigelow and George H. Bigelow. Hunting with them was 
not a pastime, but a business, as the large amount of game marketed 
shows. While the fathers were hunting, the children often engaged 
in the fall in chestnutting, which is as old as the settlement of the 
country. Folk of all ages, especially the younger members of the 
family, have kept up this pastime. In the early time large quantities 
of chestnuts were gathered for home consumption and for the market. 
When boiled the chestnut furnishes a nutritious article of food, but 

23 



DOVER FARMS 

the strong digestion of the country boys and girls handled large 
quantities of them in their natural state. Mr. Brown died in the 
Civil War,* and the place soon after passed out of the family. The 
house was located on land which was originally a part of the Metcalf 
estate. This place was purchased in 1911 by James W. Austin, who 
has erected an attractive house of the concrete construction. — Lewis 
Smith, George Welch, John H. Faulk. 

WALLACE R. COLCORD built the house east of the original 
farm house in 1899. Here he erected a cider mill, an institution which 
was introduced into the Colony about 1650, and was once found on 
many farms in Dover. By the roadside along this farm chicory may 
be found in abundance. This flower is said to have been brought to 
this country by Gov. Bowdoin as food for his sheep. 

C. M. Koopman's place was once a part of the Slavin farm. The 
house was built in 1843 by Hiram W. Jones for WILLIAM GREEN, 
who lived here with his family for many years. Mr. Green was the 
church sexton, and we can see him now hobbling across lots from 
Farm street to Springdale avenue, in his high-Jegged "go-to-meeting 
boots," which had served him for a quarter of a century. 

He rang the first bellf on Sunday morning at 9 o'clock, and the 
second bell at 10 o'clock, with the tolling of the bell at "meeting time," 
which ceased when the minister ascended the pulpit. When a death 
occurred in the parish the old sexton made the announcement by toll- 



*See "Biographical Sketches of Dover Soldiers," published by the town, 
1909. 

tThe bell put into the second meeting-house, in 1811. was cast by Paul 
Revere, and weighed 1,040 pounds. When this nieeting-house was burned 
in 1839, the bell was taken to East Medway and recast by George Holbrook 
and hung in the present meeting-house. As it contains the identical metal 
proportioned by Paul Revere and is of the same weight, it is in reality a 
"Paul Revere bell." The first time the recast bell was rung the townspeople 
all exclaimed, "It is the same old bell." The purity of the tone of this bell 
has often been remarked. This statement is not in accordance with the 
parish records, but Mr. George E. Chickerlng, the oldest resident of the 
town, says he knows it to be a fact, as his father was the Treasurer of the 
parish. 

24 



DOVER FARMS 

ing the bell a few moments; he then struck the bell twice two times if 
a male, and three times three times if a female, followed by a stroke for 
each year the person had lived. The ringing of the bell and the 
kindling of iires was the chief part of the sexton's duties. Mrs. 
Green was an enthusiastic horticulturist in all the small ways that her 
limited means allowed, and was greatly skilled in the cultivation of 
flowers, plants and shrubs; she had a flower garden with the greatest 
variety of luxurious blossoms of any person in town. The sunny 
exposures in her living rooms were crowded with growing plants, and 
many were the "slips" furnished to the women of the neighborhood 
At this time every house had a carefully tended collection of indoor 
flowers, which added greatly to the attractiveness of the home and the 
pleasure of farm life during the winter and spring months. 

John A. Knowles' estate was originally a part of a tract of land 
which belonged to the John Draper place, and included the farms of 
Irving Colburn and the late William Whiting. JOSEPH DRAPER 
settled here in 1725, and probably built his house at that time. The 
last member of the Draper family to occupy this farm was Jesse 
Draper, who married his cousin, Lois Draper, and came here to live. 
The farm passed out of the Draper family in 1821.* Slave labor 
was once employed on this farm. Joseph Draper inherited, with his 
brother John, from his father's estate, "a negro man." Slavery was 
the first of the ancient customs to pass away in this town. For a long 
time there were "nigger pews" assigned in the meeting-house. Polly 
Green, a domestic in the family of the Rev. Dr. Sanger, and Nathan 
Coffee, who worked on Dover farms, were the last to occupy these 
pews. Mr. Knowles has built on the high land on the north side of 
the road, a large brick house with stone trimmings. This farm had 
for years an old-fashioned cider press, which was run by Reuben 
Griggs and probably by earlier occupants. Cider was consumed in 
large quantities and often distilled into cider-brandy or apple-jack, — 
Thomas Draper, James Draper, Hiram W. Jones. 

*It was the life on thi.s farm that Miss Alice J. Jones has so well de- 
scribed in "Dover on the Charles." The occupation of a thrifty New England 
family, which Included not only the housework, but the employment of 
woHien in binding shoes, braiding straw, sewing straw, weaving palm leaf 
for Shaker bonnets, and the making of paper bags, is faithfully described by 
Miss Jones. 25 



DOVER FARMS 



THOMAS MERRIFIELD was among the early comers to the 
parish; he is believed to have settled here in 1736. The Merrifields 
were seated in the meeting-house as late as 1769, but left the 
parish before the Revolution. Thomas Merrifield's house was some- 
where on the Draper land bounded by Farm and Pegan streets, but 
the exact location has not been determined. The lot contained about 
an acre of land, as shown by the dower of Lois Draper, widow of 
James Draper, which is described as "excepting and reserving twelve 
rods square where the house of Thomas Merryfield did stand, which is 
included within the said bounds." A century ago iron ore was gath- 
ered in the lowlands on some farms, which was transported to a 
foundry in Walpole, but the gathering of iron ore was never an 
industry. 

WILLIAM KING built the house which stands beside the unused 
blacksmith shop in 1873. Here had been located a blacksmith .shop 
for many years. In the rear of the shop was placed the "lockup," 
where tramps were lodged by the town. Soon after the close of the 
civil war tramps commenced to be common. They were at first cared 
for by the members of the board of selectmen, but as they increased in 
numbers a tramp-house was provided. This annoyance reached its 
high-water mark in 1879, when nine hundred and eighty-six persons 
were cared for at the expense of the town. To abate this nuisance all 
able-bodied men, who had received a supper, breakfast, and a lodging, 
were required to perform some manual labor for two hours in the 
morning. Whenever possible they were employed on the highway. 
This pest continued until less comfortable quarters were provided in 
the cells under the town hall, with a ration of crackers and water. 

Irving Colburn's farm originally belonged in the major part to the 
John Draper estate. The present house was built in 1804 by EBEN- 
EZER SMITH, JR., who also built the wheelwright's shop, which 
was removed in 1905, and in which was carried on for nearly a cen- 
tury a wheelwright's business by Rufus Battelle and his son, George 
Battelle. The bricks used in the end walls of this house were burned 
on this farm from clay taken from a clay pit near Trout brook. With 

26 







^ 



"XS 



DOVER FARMS 

probably a large deposit of clay in these meadows, brick burning, 
which was something of an industry here a century and a half ago, 
may some day be resumed. Certainly the bricks used more than a 
hundred years ago in the building of Mr. Colburn's house have endur- 
ing qualities. Mr. Smith sold the estate and moved to Ashford, Conn., 
where he built a mill and went into business. Later his mill was 
swept away by a flood, and he returned to Dover with his family. 
After his return Mr. Smith followed the trade of a carpenter for many 
years. He walked to his work with his box of tools in his hand, 
starting out at four o'clock in the morning in summer, as a day's work 
was from "sun to sun." Mr. Smith did much work in Boston. He 
often left home at two o'clock on Monday morning, with a kit of tools 
on his back, and walked into Boston, where he arrived in time to do 
a full day's work. After making such purchases as he desired, he 
walked back to Dover on Saturday evening, to take up the same round 
of work again on Monday morning. At this time the hours of labor 
for women and children were long, and under the influence of the 
genius of mechanical industry, which commenced in Massachusetts in 
1836, young children were obliged to work fourteen hours a day. In 
the Lowell mills, where the conditions at this time were most favorable 
to the operatives, the working hours of all the children extended from 
five o'clock in the morning until seven o'clock in the evening, with half 
an hour for breakfast and for dinner. These conditions continued 
until 1842, when the hours of labor for children under twelve years 
were made ten hours a day. — Rufus Battelle. 

4" 4« ^ 

PEGAN STREET extends from Farm street toward the summit of 
Pegan hill. It bears an Indian name, and Indians of this 
family lived in the vicinity within the memory of living men. They 
wandered from house to house, offering their baskets* for sale and 
always asking for a drink of cider or rum. During the last years of 
their residence in Natick they were a nuisance to the people there and 
to those in the surrounding towns. The writer recalls that his grand- 
mother used to tell how a squaw came to her home one day and com- 

*A good specimen of an Indian basket is found in tlie collection of the 
Dover Historical Society. 

27 



DOVER FARMS 

plained of a severe toothache, which she said would be instantly 
cured if she could hold a little rum in her mouth. The good woman, 
out of the kindness of her heart, took down the family decanter and 
handed it to the squaw, who took swallow after swallow, declaring she 
did not know why it was, but she could not hold a drop of the liquor 
in her mouth for a minute, but declared that she would do so if she 
had to drink a quart. 

HEZEKIAH ALLEN* settled the farm at the head of this street in 
1723. It is one of the beautiful farms of eastern Massachusetts and 
commands a perfect view, meeting Ruskin's most exacting requirement 
in that it takes in a view of the horizon. An ancient writer said, 
"There are none happy in the world but beings who enjoy freely a 
vast horizon." It is only a few years since that this farm passed out 
of the Allen family. Here was located the smallpox hospital, where 
the people of the town went to be inoculated for smallpox. Bounds 
were established, and no one was allowed to go beyond the limits 
under penalty of a fine. For the patients that were convalescent farmers 
used to carry apples, pears and peaches by the bushels and pitch 
them over the fence at night or in the early morning. Unlike other 
families, so far as known, the Aliens of Medfield, of whom Hezekiah 
Allen and his descendants are worthy members, have had a series of 
family songs which through passing generations have been sung 
around the Allen firesides and repeated at all family reunions. The 

*It is Interesting to know who as carpenters built, or helped to build, the 
houses of the town. None were more useful as citizens. At first, timber 
was cut in the forests and hauled in to be mortised and raised by the men 
of the neighborhood, as was the house of Thomas Larrabee, which waa 
raised by his comrades in the war of the Revolution. On such occasions rye 
bread and cheese with new rum were furnished in abundance. Later many 
of the substantial houses of the town were built by men who were "handy 
with tools," assisted perhaps by a carpenter of the town. Hezekiah Allen 
was the first carpenter of which we have record. John Bacon was a house- 
wright in 1745, and probably built in 1756 the McGill cottage on Main street, 
which was his brother Richard's house. Ralph Day was a carpenter, and 
built the Sullivan house on Strawberry hill In 1755. Samuel Wilson, Jr., 
was a carpenter, and was living here in 1792. He was followed by a long 
list of carpenters, soniC of whom were contractors of large buildings In 
other towns, as Ebenezer Smith, Daniel Mann, Leonard Gay, Luther Rich- 
ards, Charles Marden, James H. Wight, Hiram W. Jones, and Daniel Mann, 
2nd. 

28 



DOVER FARMS 

late Joseph A. Allen did a worthy service in making a collection of 
these songs,* which he set to music. They are believed to be unlike 
any other collection in this country, and illustrate how accurately 
words may be repeated by "living lips to listening ears" through gen- 
erations. Here for many years Sumner Allen carried on a slaughter- 
ing and general market business, which was continued for a time by 
John P. Bachelder. Previous to about 1860 all mowing on Dover 
farms was done by hand, as it had been done for two hundred years. 
In haying time farmers rose at 4 o'clock in the morning and mowed a 
couple of hours before their six o'clock breakfast, after which they 
mowed again until 10 o'clock. While Hiram W. Jones is believed to 
have owned the first mowing machine in Dover, he was soon followed 
by Jared Allen, Calvin Richard of Strawberry hill, and Henry 
Goulding in the west part of the town. These farmers not only did 
the mowing on their own farms, but went out to do mowing for other 
farmers, as well, at $1.50 per acre. Calvin Richards, with the aid of 
a fourteen-year-old boy, illustrated the utility of farm machinery in 
gathering his entire hay crop in an incredibly short time by means 
of the mowing machine, tedder, horse rake, and the horse pitchfork. 
Before the introduction of farm machinery the gathering of the hay 
crop was with some farmers an all summer job. By 1865 the farmers 
of Dover were quite generally supplied with the one horse "Union 
Mowing Machine." Previous to 1840 all farm labor was done by 
hand, with the exception of plowing, hoeing, and hauling. With the 
grain in hand it was sown broadcast in the field, cut by the scythe or 
cradle, thrashed by the flail and winnowed by the breeze. All kinds 
of vegetables were planted, cultivated and gathered by hand. Nor 
was the situation different in the home, where the only machines were 
the spinning wheel and the churn. This crude labor produced 
nothing but an over-abundant supply of food and clothes. 

The Pegan hill farm has been divided in recent years. R. GOR- 
HAM FULLER has the Nawn farm,t on which he has erected a 

*A copy may be found In the Dover Public Library. 

tNamed for M. E. Nawn, who owned the farm for a few years. 

29 



DOVER FARMS 

beautiful house, while on the south side of the road CORWIN MC- 
DOWELL, has a fine place which he has named the Allen farm, in 
honor of the Allen family, which for more than a century and a half 
represented the history and traditions of the town. — Hezekiah Allen, 
Jr., Timothy Allen. 

^ ^i 4. 

WIGHT STREET was named for the Seth Wight branch of the 
family, who lived in the west part of the town. Members 
of the Wight family settled, much earlier, however, on Dedham street 
near Noanet brook. Wight street extends west from Farm street to 
Glen street. The old part of this street west of Glen street is no 
longer used as a public highway. 

JONATHAN MASON had a homestead at the left, and nearly 
at the end of the old street, which was known for many years as 
"Wight's lane." It was an old, low-studded house, and was built 
in 1730; it remained standing until within a few years. Mr. INIason 
sold his farm to Seth Wight of Medfield in 1747. Mr. Wight did 
not occupy the farm himself, but his son, Seth, Jr., took up his resi- 
dence here about the time of the Revolution. In 1774 Seth Wight, 
Jr., purchased of Ebenezer Newell, the adjoining farm, which in- 
cluded a part of the farm of the late Thomas INIcGill and the Welch 
place. The time was when no house was complete without the sur- 
rounding fence. The idea is an inheritance from ancient days, 
when each man's house was his fort, and this custom came to America 
with the first settlers. How well we remember this old fenced-in 
house. With increasing crops there were increasing cattle to destroy 
them. The Puritans developed the New England stone wall, the 
most charming of all fences. People coming from outside of New 
England and city-bred visitors to the country, says Freeman Tilden, 
seldom fail to marvel at these never-ending fences built of round, 
flat, whole and broken stones, piled one upon another with seeming 
carelessness, yet withstanding the test of time as no other fence could 
possibly do. "A rod a day," was the slogan. Sixteen and a half feet 
of that work was surely no child's play. It was an ideal, or the 
symbol of an ideal. It stood for industry and later for independence. 

30 







"^ 






DOVER FARMS 

Those New England stone walls helped sign the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, helped wallop the British infantry, and likewise furnished 
convenient shelter for the patriot sharpshooters, as they did on the 
road from Boston to Lexington and Concord, in April, '75. ISIany 
stone walls on Dover farms which owners are now removing were 
built by the farmer by moonlight after a hard day's work, of the 
stones removed in clearing and developing the soil. Fenced lots have 
always caused disputes: the question always arising whether the 
fence was in proper condition to keep the cattle in or keep them out. 
Fence-viewers are still appointed, whose duty it is to look after fences 
and settle disputes. The McGill farm comprised the original Jon- 
athan Mason place and a part of the Ebenezer Newell estate. The 
former was purchased by Thomas McGill, in 1857, and the latter in 
1866. CALEB WIGHT built the house in which Mr. McGill lived 
and occupied it for many years. It was in the process of construc- 
tion during the great wind storm of 1815, and the roof was held in 
place by means of heavy chains which Mr. Wight applied. At the 
door of every house stood the leach barrel, where in the spring the 
year's supply of ashes were leached for the lye used in making the 
family soap and in hulling corn, of which large quantities were used. 
When required, potash could be made from the lye. Caleb Wight's 
farm was originally a part of his father's estate, and joined on the 
north the Indian farm at Natick, of which Mr. Wight was at one 
time a joint owner with Draper Smith. The life of the surviving 
Indians was of interest as witnessed by the owners. While their cul- 
tivated fields of corn and beans had gone to neglect, yet their apple 
orchards still bore large quantities of fruit. They had berries, wild 
grapes, ground-nuts, chestnuts and walnuts, together with some 
edible roots. The Indians had in their food list neither cakes, pies, 
jams, preserves, candy or confections. In the spring they made 
maple sugar, for the time being cooling it on the snow. The only 
cake made by the Indians consisted of meal mixed with a quantity of 
fat and baked on heated stones. Their great dish, a kind of stew 
or porridge, was kept on the fire where the Indians could at any time 
help themselves. — James McGill, 

31 



DOVER FARMS 

Thomas Welch's place was a part of the Ebenezer Newell farm. 
The first house was built here by NATHANIEL SMITH in 1762. 
It was removed by the late Frederick H. Wight, who built a new 
house in 1847, which was burned some years since. Here Mr. Wight 
started his market business, which was later moved to the centre of 
the town, and in which he continued for nearly fifty years. His 
father, Asa Wight, looked after the little farm, while he engaged in 
trade and the making of shoes. On this part of the original estate 
a cider mill was early located, which was in operation for many 
years. All of the above farms are now included in Graystone, the 
three-hundred acre estate of ARTHUR E. DAVIS, who has built 
here a beautiful house of field stones gathered on his surrounding 
acres. With all the beauty and luxury on this farm to-day we are 
reminded of the time when on these original farms only the best room 
had a carpet and the Jew's-harp was the only musical instrument. In 
the years following the Civil War there was a wonderful transforma- 
tion in the home life of the people of this town. — Aaron Wight, 
Asa Wight, William T. Welch. 

4" ^ 4* 

GLEN STREET extends from Farm street to the Natick line on 
the north. This road, in connection with the part in Natick, 
is of peculiar interest as leading through a section of the country 
which was intimately associated with the life of the "Praying 
Indians." Along this road are still to be seen, in the town of Natick, 
the site of early Indian homes. On the "Indian farm," the entrance 
to which is soon passed at the left after crossing the boundary line, 
are several marked sites where Indians once lived. The home of 
Hannah Dexter, the celebrated Indian doctor, is marked by the stone 
slab numbered 2. Here she met a tragic death in 182L The monu- 
ment numbered 4 marks a spot where Indians lived as late as 1833. 
The last Natick Indian died in 1875. There are other sites on Glen 
road where Indian settlements were made nearly two hundred years 
ago. Mr. Eliot tells us, with much clearness, that the settlement was 
commenced here in 1650. When Dean Stanley visited America some 
years ago, he was asked what places he would like to visit. His 
reply was significant: "I want to see the spot where the Pilgrims 

32 



DOVER FARMS 

landed and where the Apostle Eliot preached to the Indians." A 
charm rests upon this region, for those who have an interest in the 
Indians of Massachusetts bay. This region seems to have belonged 
to different Indian tribes or families. Over this territory the Indians 
chased the deer, and in Charles river and the surounding ponds 
(Cochituate and Farm lake, of which the latter has no Indian name), 
they caught in summer and in winter a supply of fish. On the 
waters of the Charles and Neponset rivers they plied their canoes, 
which were not much less numerous than those seen on these streams 
to-day. By means of Charles river, the Indians were enabled to 
reach Mendon and the Blackstone valley, as well as the territory 
tributary to this stream in Watertown, Newton, Dedham, Needham, 
Wellesley, Dover,* Natick, Sherborn, Medfield, Millis, Medway, 
Bellingham, and other towns. From Charles river the Indians made 
a short cut to Narragansett bay, the home of Massasoit and his son, 
King Philip. Through the waters of the Neponset river they reached 
the territory around Milton, Canton and Sharon, while a short dis- 
tance beyond brought them to Taunton and the old colony. From 
the exceedingly rich flora of this section, the Indian gathered herbs 
for medicines. William Edwards, Curator and Collector for the 
Botanical Department of Wellesley College, used to say that he 
found a greater variety of plants in this vicinity than any other given 
area in Massachusetts. Having read in one of Dr. Asa Gray's books 
of a certain fern, which the author stated did not grow south of 
Labrador, Mr. Edwards got into his boat, rowed up Charles river to 
a certain point, where he gathered a specimen of the species in ques- 
tion, which he presented the next day to the astonished professor at 
Cambridge. 

♦Readers of the town records will some time run across a vote of the 
town, passed at its annual meeting, accepting the manuscript of "A Hand- 
Book of Dover." which was ordered printed. At a subsequent meeting, 
thinly attended, this vote was rescinded. It is recalled that one speaker, in 
favoring the reconsideration, said that when the town wanted such a work 
she would pay for it. This book is essentially the manuscript that was 
rejected, somewhat curtailed in treatment. Perhaps it will some time bo 
estimated how much such a book would cost if prepared by a vote of the 
town, 

33 



DOVER FARMS 

John McClure's farm was originally owned by his stepfather, 
CALEB KENRICK, who made the first purchase of land here from 
his brother, John Kenrick. The house was erected in 1859 by Caleb 
Kenrick. Mr. McClure enlarged the farm sevearl times through 
purchases of adjoining land, and in 1910 erected a house for his son, 
WILLIAM A. McCLURE. 

DANA C. HANCHETT'S house (burned a few years since) was 

built in 1878 by himself and J. FRANKLIN RICHARDS, on land 

which was a part of the farm of their father-in-law, James Draper. 

After some years Mr. Richards sold his interest in the place and 

moved to Southern Pines, N. C. Here Mr. Hanchett carried on a 

prosperous milk business. 

4. ^ ^ 

SMITH STREET extends from Farm street to the farm formerly 
owned by Freeman A. Parmenter. The beautiful Dingle hole, or 
"Rocky Narrows," as it has been more recently called, is reached from 
the foot of this street. The land on the Dover side belongs to the Com- 
monwealth, being a part of the Asylum property, while that on the 
other, the Sherborn side, consisting of twenty-one acres, is held by 
the Trustees of Public Reservations, being the gift of Augustus 
Hemenway. The "Gate of the Charles," as the Narrows are some- 
times called, is the most beautiful spot on Charles river, with the 
charm of seclusion which rests upon it, and one of the finest in 
eastern Massachusetts. On Smith street was one of the first ice 
houses or cellars in town. It was removed before 1860, which indi- 
cates its early erection. It was built by the Smith Brothers and used 
in connection with their market and meat business. Refrigerators 
and ice chests are of comparatively recent introduction. Previous to 
their use, all provisions were kept on the earth-floored cellar bottom, 
or hung in deep wells, while cans of milk were cooled in springs. 
Elecampane, which used to be so common, being used for medicinal 
purposes, grows along this road, and perhaps this is now the only 
spot in town where this herb is found. 

JOSEPH A. SMITH built in 1856, on land which had previously 

34 







^ 

^ 



-Si 



^ 









DOVER FARMS 

been a part of his father's estate, the house now occupied by Judge 
John Duff. Mr. Smith used the divining-rod and could unerringly 
locate springs of water. Farmers sought his aid when sinking wells 
and valued his assistance; he often estimated with excellent judg- 
ment the number of feet that a well would have to be sunk. He often 
cut a fresh witch-hazel rod, but sometimes employed split whalebone. 
In using the divining-rod the legs were held in the hands, and when 
a spring or vein of water was crossed, the point would turn down; 
the power was often shown in the cracked bark of the stick when 
resistance was offered. The divining-rod has been known from time 
immemorial throughout the whole Eastern hemisphere. The power 
is probably analagous to magnetism and electricity. Mr. Smith had 
a small fruit garden, with black currants (which were used medicin- 
ally), red and white currants, high blackberries, white thimble 
berries, red raspberries, and near at hand was the caraway patch, 
from which the seed was carefully gathered and sold to the nearest 
baker. Amid all this wealth of nature the people never had the open 
air habit, and before the middle of the last century there were no 
houses with piazzas where one could sit out of doors and enjoy the 
fresh air. The first piazza added to a house in its construction was 
probably built by Joseph A. Smith in the erection of the house now 
occupied by Dr. W. C. Porter in 1844.* It is still true that "we of 
the older stock remain undeveloped on the side of open air tastes 
and pleasures;" for generations our ancestors cut themselves off from 
fresh air in living and sleeping rooms. There was no protection 
from flies and mosquitoes, and for months in the spring and summer 
it was almost impossible to live with open windows. While the early 
piazzas were used more for the protection of plants from early frosts, 
the ripening of seed cucumbers, melons and squashes, than for the 
fresh air of the family, nevertheless they were suggestive of out-of- 
door life, and in time have come to be enjoyed. It is a hopeful sign 
when men are asking themselves "why the windows of their dwell- 
ings are drawn by the architects so small, and why parlors are made 

♦Whether the piazza on the Pokanoket Club House was built with the 
house by Capt. John Shumway in 1813 is unknown, but it Is believed to have 
been added later. 

35 



DOVER FARMS 

so gloomy, more fit for the residence of a hermit than a happy- 
hearted man." 

The Smith farm, owned in part by the late Robert S. Minot and 
in part by Dr. Porter, was one of the first to be settled in the westerly 
part of Dover. Here was a fortification* against the Indians, which 
was standing at the beginning of the last century. The spot is now 
marked by a patch of tansy, west of the farm spring, which has 
grown there through many generations. The farm was originally a 
part of JONATHAN PLIMPTON'S estate of Medfield. Mr. 
Plimpton probably built the first set of farm buildings. It was in- 
cluded in the inventory of his estate in 1749. The farm was pur- 
chased by his daughter, Mrs. Timothy Guy, of her brother, in 1754. 
The first buildings on the farm stood about midway between the 
extreme ends of the street, near the never-failing spring, which 
during dry periods has supplied the immediate neighbors with water 
through many generations. Bountiful springs are always found near 
the houses of pioneer settlers. The house on this farm is one of the 
oldest in town, having been moved from the north part of Medfield 
previous to 1790, where it was occupied by David ISIorse and family. 
William S. Tilden, the historian of Medfield, gave it as his opinion, 
derived from history and tradition, that this house was built perhaps 
as early as 1730, and not later than the marriage of Mr. Morse's son 
Seth in 1741, who settled on the homestead, but was drowned with 
two sons, in Charles river, in 1753. This is the oldest house now 
occupied in Dover. Its timbers of oak were hewn with the broad 
axe. The roof and walls were covered with oak boards, and the 
shingles and clapboards held with wrought iron nails, which had 
been made at a smithy. The windows on the ground floor were all 
fitted with sliding shutters, paneled and provided with iron hooks. 
Rooms thus furnished could be made at noonday as dark as the 
darkest night. The windows in all old houses were furnished with 
window sticks, which when placed in the run made for the lower sash 
held all windows securely fastened. The outside doors were made 

*A pane of glass taken from this old fortification Is in the rooms of the 
Dover Historical Society. 

36 



DOVER FARMS 

of a double thickness of oak boards placed diagonally and held to- 
gether by wrought iron nails, which were firmly clinched on the 
inside. It has been often remarked that these doors looked as though 
they had been built to keep the Indians out. In this old house the 
heavy oak timbers were exposed in the sleeping rooms and remained 
unplastered for more than a hundred years. In the parlor or "front 
room," the north side, which contained the fireplace, brick oven* and 
cupboard, was finished in wood elaborately paneled, and after many 
years painted white. For a long time after the settlement of the 
town, no paint was used on houses; nature was allowed to put on her 
subdued tints, but later this house, like many others, was painted red, 
with white trimmings. Before being remodeled, it was of the "lean 
to" construction, like most ancient houses. Long after the house had 
been moved to its present site, water was taken from the spring be- 
fore mentioned for all household purposes, and the housewife often 
carried water in pails this long distance for washing purposes on 
Monday morning. When the well was sunk, the windlass was intro- 
duced, which was followed later by the well-sweep and 

"The old oaken bucket, 
The iron-bound bucket, 
The moss-covered bucket, 
Which hung in the well." 

The .i-v^ention of the wooden pump was hailed with delight, 

♦W^e remember seeing the old brick oven used at Thanksgiving. It was 
first filled witli fagots, which had been carefully prepared, lighted and 
burned out, which imparted to the brick the right degree of heat. The 
ashes were then removed. At the farther end were put the beans, followed 
by the brown bread and pies and cakes, all of which were put in place by 
the long-handled wooden shovel. These were all allowed to stay in the oven 
the necessary time, and were taken out in the reversed order from that In 
which they have been named. In cold weather the eggs and the ink bottle 
were kept in the brick oven, which was so well protected from the winter 
blast. Later, cooking was done in the tin kitchen placed on the hearth; 
meat and poultry were roasted before the fire on the spit. 
"Between the andiron's straddling feet, 

The mug of cider simmered slow. 

The apples sputtered in a row. 

And, close at hand, the basket stood, -»•" 

"With nuts from brown October's wood." 

37 



DOVER FARMS 

although it was more serviceable in summer than in winter. On 
cold winter mornings a kettle of boiling water was always required 
to thaw the pump out. Two wells were sunk on this farm, one on 
the north side and one on the south side of the house, which were 
respectively forty-two and forty-four feet deep. These wells were at 
one time furnished with wooden pumps, made by John Bacon of 
South Natick, who for many years supplied the surrounding towns, 
but they were not very serviceable, as it was hard to raise water so 
many feet. They were later abandoned and the windlass restored. 
Springs are now utilized to some extent, and cisterns have taken the 
place of wells in many instances, while the wings of the windmill are 
spread on many farms to raise water for the buildings. The fact will 
be noticed that many industries have been carried on on these old 
Dover farms. In some cases there was an expenditure on buildings 
that would seem ridiculous to-day. In addition to the dwelling- 
house on this farm, there was the "old barn," the "new barn" and the 
"horse barn." A slaughter house, calf and sheep pens, sheds, — with 
the trough well filled with rock salt for the cattle — pig-sty, corn-barn, 
well-house, wood-house, smoke-house, cob-house, and ice-house, no 
less than fourteen separate buildings, which were used in carrying 
on the industries. Here Dr. Porter is now making certified milk 
from registered stock and manufacturing in the "Harvard Surgical 
Laboratory" surgical instruments that are ordered from all over the 
world. — Timothy Guy, Draper Smith, Albert L. Smith, Frank Smith, 
Joseph Smith. 

John S. Lee's farm was settled by JOHN PLIMPTON, who 
erected the buildings thereon soon after the year 1800. A part of 
this farm was under cultivation when purchased by Mr. Plimpton, 
and originally belonged, like the Smith farm, to the Plimpton estate 
of Medfield. A cider-mill* was located here, which was in operation 
long after many others had been closed. On this farm, while owned 
by Henry Goulding, was kept up the old custom of having a husking 
party, during the harvest moon. These husking bees were largely 

*For the location of elder-mills see Proceedings 125th Anniversary of the 
Incorporation of Dover," page 58. 

38 



DOVER FARMS 

attended by persons from this and surrounding towns. The supper 
was a leading feature, and the tables were heaped with the viands 
of primitive New England served in a style which testified to the 
skill of the hostess as a cook. Before 1858 all sewing in Dover 
homes was done by hand. Mrs. Goulding had the first sewing 
machine in town, a Ladd & Webster; it was a great curiosity, and 
many people came to see it run. Mrs. Goulding had a large family 
of children and the machine was of great service to her. Soon her 
daughters learned to run it, and did not only the family sewing but 
plain sewing for the neighbors as well. In her girlhood days Mrs. 
Goulding learned the trade of the tailor and greatly appreciated this 
labor-saving invention, which in a few years came into general use. 
She also had, about 1865, one of the three first wringing machines 
brought into town. This machine was so well made that it is still 
in weekly use after the lapse of nearly a half century. — Freeman A. 
Parmenter. 

^ ^ ^ 

BRIDGE STREET, although short in distance, extending from 
Farm street to the centre of Farm bridge, is nevertheless an 
exceedingly pretty street, gradually descending to the level of the 
surrounding meadows and winding beneath the shade of stately elms. 
In 1658 Daniel Morse "was granted as much timber near Charles 
river as might be fit to build a bridge, over the said river, over 
against his farm near Natick." This was the grant of timber for 
Farm bridge, which was probably built soon after, as Daniel Morse, 
who settled the Sherborn farm, in 1656, continued to attend church 
in Med field for many years. Other settlements were made on the 
east side of the river a half century later. The Rev. Mr. Higginson, 
in a letter written in 1629, thus describes the land around Charles 
river: "The land at Charles River is as fat blacke earth as can be 
seen anywhere, though all the country bee, as it were, a thick wood 
for the generall. The fertilitee of the soyle is to be admired at, as 
appeareth in the abundance of grasse that groweth everie where, both 
verie, verie thicke, long and high. But it groweth wildly with a great 
stalke and broad rankee blade. 

"In the setting of 13 gallons of corne, a man hath- had increase of 

39 



DOVER FARMS 

it 52 hogsheads, everie hogshead holding seven bushels of London 
measure and hee made about 327 pounds of it the yeere following. 
The corne is of varietee of colours, as red, blew, and yellow. Little 
children here by setting of corne may earne much more than their 
own maintenance." 

JOSIAH FISHER settled the Bridge street farm nearly two cen- 
turies ago — 1716. The present house was built in 1807, and used 
to have, under the broad, spreading elm, which stands in front of it, 
a horse-block, which was used in the early time in mounting and dis- 
mounting from the saddle or pillion. Like all early houses, this 
faces as near south as the rude science of the builder could place it, 
and so the "noon mark" was as accurate in measuring time as a 
chronometer, and for generations was daily consulted when the sun 
shone. The brook which runs through this farm, and empties into 
Charles river, was early called Fisher's brook, but the name had long 
been forgotten and had never appeared on a town map previous to 
the publication of the Biographical Sketches of Dover Soldiers, in 
1909. Here was tried, more than a century ago, the experiment on 
an apple tree of inverting the bud or scion, the result being a "no- 
core apple." Fine old pastures were once common on these farms, 
which, when cleared and enclosed, were used for the fattening of 
beef cattle, which found a ready market, among local butchers, or at 
the Brighton market. As late as 1865 forty-two thousand seven 
hundred pounds of beef was produced here. Previous to this time 
the fattening of cattle was very general, followed about 1850 with a 
larger product of butter and cheese; this period was succeeded by 
the fattening of calves, which were slaughtered and sold in the 
Boston market. This business gave place about 1865 to the pro- 
duction of milk, which has continued to the present time. On these 
old farms were salting places, still to be seen, licked smooth in the 
solid rocks; where the farmer, salt in hand, went out on Sunday 
morning to inspect and salt his stock. Some farmers owned pastures 
in distant towns, where they turned cows and growing stock to be 
taken in for beeves in the early fall. The custom prevailed of turn- 
ing the stock to pasture on May 10th, without regard to the season. 

40 





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DOVER FARMS 

It sometimes happened, however, at this date that the snow banks 
still lingered against the stone-walls. In the early time one cow in 
every herd wore a bell, the tinkling of which enabled the farmer to 
locate his herd; unruly cows wore a poke, which prevented them 
from breaking down fences. Animals have been greatly changed 
and improved by breeding. In 1710 Doctor Davenant, a writer on 
political economy, estimated that the average weight of dressed cattle 
did not exceed 370 pounds. In 1846 McCullock stated that at 
present the average weight of cattle is estimated at or about 800 
pounds. — Fisher Allen, Noah A. Fiske, Alonzo Went worth. 

^ 4" 4* 

MAIN STREET extends north from Springdale avenue to 
Dover street. It was in the early time a continuation of 
Farm street to Pleasant street. Over a part of this road vehicles 
have rolled for more than a hundred and lifty years. Before 1812, 
two-wheeled carriages, chaises and chairs were wholly used, and pre- 
vious to the Revolution, the inventory of many estates contained 
only "the bridle, saddle and pillion." In the evolution of things the 
saddle, pillion and chaise gave way to the "carryall," which as its 
name indicates, was used for the accommodation of the whole family, 
especially on Sunday, when a succession of carryalls rolled up to 
the meeting-house door, which not only filled the pews with wor- 
shipers, but the long rows of sheds with horses and carriages. On 
pleasant Sundays many teams, failing to find shed accommodation, 
were hitched to trees. The early Dover farmers, being much on the 
road in carting wood and timber to Boston, became early patrons of 
the playhouses which sprung up in Boston, after the Revolution. 
It is said that there was no serious attempt to have a play in Boston 
previous to 1750, as there was a strong feeling against having plays 
performed. The British introduced plays in Boston and presented 
a play in Faneuil hall entitled "The Blockade in Boston in January, 
1776." A burlesque was played on this when the Yankees again 
got control of the city. In 1794 the Federal Street Theatre was 
built, which was afterwards called the Boston Theatre, and from 
that time on the theatre has been a favorite resort for recreation. 
From the crowded condition of affairs farmers often got into trouble 

41 



DOVER FARMS 

around the hay and wood stands, and the Mayor sometimes came 
round to straighten matters out. On one occasion a Dover farmer 
accosted the Mayor with "who are you that feels so big, talks so 
loud and shows so much authority," for which he was brought into 
court. Main street, at the base of Pegan hill, has several of the 
most beautiful farms in town. The head of this street was called 
for many years "Battle row," in honor of the numerous descendents 
of John Battle* who lived here. 

JOHN CHENEY owned the farm, now occupied by the heirs of 
Wm. H. Skimmings, previous to 1748. Mr. Cheney sold this estate 
in 1762 to Jesse Knapp and moved to Warwick, Mass. Mr Knapp 
was a blacksmith and followed his trade here. In the years before 
the day of the telephone and the automobile those who lived on 
these old farms developed great power of disease resistance; they 
"were strong and healthy and independent." Before 1790 the 
people did not have the doctor habit, and it is interesting to note 
how few doctors' bills appear in adminstrators' accounts. Large 
families of children were carried through epidemics of scarlet fever, 
measles and other skin diseases without calling a doctor. The 
prevailing disease of which people died was "family consumption," 
which was not inherited but caught from the germs in cracks and 
walls which remained through the years to infect the occupants. 
For a few years previous to 1906 the Skimmings family had a little 
grocery store here. — Ebenezer Wilkinson, Jared Allen. 

JAMES H. WIGHT built in 1846 the house now owned by Miss 
Mary Grace. Here Linus Bliss, merchant and cigar manufacturer, 
lived. There existed in New England for many years a class of 
traders known as "wholesale peddlers," who travelled over the 
country with large stock wagons. Soon after the close of the Civil 
War, commerical travellers, or drummers, appeared, who in time 
drove this practice entirely off the road. Linus Bliss supported 
one of these teams, which was engaged in the wholesale cigar busi- 

♦This name was spelled both "Battle," "Battell" and "Battelle," by tha 
first settlers. The present family spelling Is here given. 

42 



DOVER FARMS 

ness. He had a fine wagon, neatly painted and shining with 
varnish, which was drawn by a pair of horses over the surrounding 
country, but which is not now remembered by those under middle 
age. — Charles H. Smith. 

James H. Wight's carpenter's shop, which faced on Springdale 
avenue, was re-modeled into a store and dwelling house about 
1850 for A. L. DERBY. It was later owned by Micajah S. Plum- 
mer, who continued the grocery business previously established. 
Later George E. Bliss manufactured cigars here. 

William Bigelow built a boot shop, which was converted in- 
to a double dwelling house and occupied for many years by 
Eleazer Newell and HARRY ORCUTT, the village blacksmith. 
This tenement was later burned, with other buildings in the vicinity. 
Here was carried on the manufacture of calf and kip boots by 
Lawrence Derby, Martin Derby and John Q. A. Nichols, who were 
in company. In this shop shoes were made in the crude hand way; 
with awl, bristle, thread, lapstone and hammer, as they had been 
from time immemorial. Machinery has made the manufacture of 
shoes one of the most important of the industries of the United 
States. A single shoe now passes through over a hundred and six 
different hands and sixty machines in the process of manufacture. 

Linus Bliss purchased the property now included in Springdale 
park and moved his cigar shop to this area. He soon raised the 
blacksmith's shop, which had been converted into a house for 
WILLIAM BIGELOW, and put a store beneath, where he con- 
ducted a successful grocery and dry goods business for many years. 
In the course of time, however, all the buildings located on the area 
of Springdale park were destroyed by fire. It is an interesting fact 
that the two centers most thickly settled, and having the largest busi- 
ness interest in the town, (Bliss' corner, and the manufacturing 

Note. — Springdale park comprises a triangle on which was located the 
early blacksmith's shop of Jesse Knapp, Silas Bacon, Ebenezer Wilkinson 
and Calvin Bigelow; here were also located several shops, stores and 
houses. 

43 



DOVER FARMS 

plants at Charles River*), have both entirely disappeared. The 
Bacon Brothers, (Albert and Edward Bacon) were the last to occupy 
this store. 

The Rev. Allen E. Battelle's farm was originally a part of the 
estate of Josiah Battelle and was owned by his father, SHERMAN 
BATTELLE, who built the house here in 1817. Several of the 
farms at the foot of Pegan hill were deeded by the Indians. The 
Battelle pasture on Pegan hill was deeded to John Battelle by 
Eunice Spywood as late as 1763. The Rev. Allen E. Battelle was 
deeply interested in Dover and took a just pride in his residence. 
In the adjoining grove, social gatherings in connection with the 
Springdale Baptist Church were sometimes held. 

Miss Marietta Bailey's house was built by her grandfather, Sher- 
man Battelle, in 1849, for his son-in-law the REV. TIMOTHY 
BAILEY. The place is of interest, as a part of the original John 
Battle settlement of more than two hundred years ago. 

Daniel Mann 2nd occupied a house, a part of which once stood 
where Miss Bailey's house now stands. It belonged to Miss Zellah 
Allen, a granddaughter of Hezekiah Allen of Pegan hill. Miss Allen 
never forgot a favor, and it is still remembered of her that no one 
ever gave her anything without getting something of value in return. 
Miss Allen believed in fresh air quite in contrast with the prevailing 
custom, when, even in the hottest summer weather, people slept with 
clo.sed windows, as it was thought dangerous to breathe "night air." 
Miss Allen would not allow any plastering in her little house, as she 
did not want to keep the fresh air out. LEONARD GAY bought this 
house in 1840, and moved it to its present location. With additions 
he converted it into a comfortable dwelling house, where he lived for 
many years. 

JOHN Q. A. NICHOLS built the house now owned by Frank H. 
Winchenbach in 1856. Here Mr. Nichols made boots for a time. 

♦Formerly called Dover Mills. 

44 



DOVER FARMS 

He later moved to Elmira, New York, where he formed a partnership 
with A. L. Derby, formerly of Dover, and engaged in the manufacture 
of boots. — Henry J. Winchenbach. 

Charles S. Damrell's estate, which he has named "Peganhurst," 
was originally the farm of JOSIAH BATTELLE, JR., who built the 
house in 1812. The ell of this house is said to have been the original 
John Battelle house, which was built in 1678. Josiah Battelle, Jr., 
moved it from his father's place (Farrington farm), on the opposite 
side of the road, and made it a part of his house. The country dances 
held in this old kitchen are still talked about. Mr. Battelle was a 
whip-maker and his little shop is still found in the group of buildings. 
This land belonged originally to John Battelle's estate, and for beauty 
of location is unsurpassed in eastern Massachusetts. — Henry Horton. 

John S. Damrell lived in a house which was built by ALPHEUS 
H. ELLIS in 1850, for his mother and stepfather, Josiah Battelle. 
Mr. Battelle was, for many years, a manufacturer of whips and took 
apprentices into his family, as was the custom of the day, whom he 
taught his trade in return for their services. At twenty-one years of 
age he gave each apprentice a hundred dollars and a freedom suit of 
clothes. The apprentice system, in vogue a century ago, did not pre- 
vail here to any extent, as there were so few who had trades or 
engaged in a large way in any kind of manufacturing. 

William A. McNamara owns the Farrington farm, which is one of 
the oldest farms in Dover. It originally belonged to JOHN BAT- 
TELLE, son of Thomas Battelle, the emigrant, who was an early 
settler on the Clay Brook road. Mr. Battelle settled here in 1678, and 
gave this farm to his eldest son, John, in 1710. In his will it is 
spoken of as "near the place called Natick — on the west side of the 
Great brook, with the house and buildings." The old house on this 
farm, a good specimen of an early Colonial house, was burned in 1900, 
and the present house was built in 1910. Astrology had a strong hold 
on the people in these old homes until the beginning of the nineteenth 
century, as shown by the books that were hawked about the country 

45 



DOVER FARMS 

by book peddlers, which claimed to treat of the "Wisdom of the 
Ancients." Farmers, as late as the Centennial year — 1876 — consulted 
the "Man of the Signs" before performing farm surgery on their 
domestic animals. Each sign of the zodiac was believed to "govern 
an organ or part of the body, and in selecting a day to treat any ail- 
ment in man or beast, or even to let blood, it was necessary to know 
whether the moon was, or was not, in that sign." Farmers were gov- 
erned by the moon in killing their winter pork or beef, that "it might 
increase while cooking;" farmers went a-fi.shing when the sign was in 
the belly; then it was believed fish would bite; firewood was cut by 
the moon to prevent snapping; wheat was sown in the right quarter 
to prevent smutting, and bushes were cut at those times when the influ- 
ence of the moon was most likely to kill them. Quack doctors rode 
over the country selling their cure-alls; the last of these was Dr. 
Quinn, who went from house to house selling his family medicines and 
for some years visited the town every few months. — John Battelle, 
Josiah Battelle, Benjamin Farrington. 

RUFUS CAMPBELL settled in Dover more than half a century 
ago, and built the house in 1849 owned by the late Asa S. Bean. Here 
the widow of John M. Brown, who died in the army at Yorktown, Va., 
in 1862, resided with her family for many years. The custom pre- 
vailed for many years among the farmers of the town of "deaconing" 
in a moderate way everything that was put up for the market. In 
packing apples the best fruit was put at the top and bottom of the 
barrel, while that of less desirable quality found a place in the middle 
of the barrel. In this way customers found the fruit of desirable 
quality whether the barrel was opened at the top or bottom. This 
practice, we believe, has entirely disappeared. 

ALONZO HOWE lived in Dover for some years, and followed the 
trade of a carpenter. He purchased, in 1840, twelve acres of land of 
Hiram W. Jones, on which he built the house occupied by the late 
Henry R. Stevens. — Stephen Jones. 

SILAS BACON'S farm is marked by the old house on the Stevens 

46 




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DOVER FARMS 

estate. This farm was settled and the present house built in 1787. 
Here Aunt Fanny Bacon, the tailoress of the town, who went from 
house to house, lived in her humble way, and did a fine service. On 
these old farms in the spring of the year the farmers often made quan- 
tities of fagots, which in the day of brick ovens, found a ready sale 
in Boston. This was the home where Francis Bacon lived and reared 
his family. 

James G. Mann's house stands on the site of Silas Bacon's black- 
smith shop. A century ago there was great demand for the services of 
the blacksmith, and twenty-one shops have been located in different 
parts of the town.* The blacksmith had quite as many oxen to shoe 
as horses, and quite as much of the fitting of iron to woodwork, in 
building wagons and making farming tools as anything else. In the 
spring the point had to be sharpened for the wooden plow. The first 
house on this place was built by WILLIAM A. HOWE, and was 
destroyed by fire some years ago. Here Mr. Howe carried on the 
business of manufacturing shoe filling for many years, which gave 
employment to quite a number of persons. 

MARTIN BACON built in 1845 the house where his son, the late 
Silas Bacon, lived. The land was originally a part of the Bacon 
homestead, and as such it is of interest, as the Bacon family was 
among the early settlers of the town. W. & A. Bacon, the old-time 
dry goods merchants of Roxbur}% are direct descendants of the Dover 
family. It is an interesting fact that the Bacon School in Roxbury 
was named for this family. 

♦Blacksmith shops were located as follows: Obed Hartshorn's farm. Farm 
street; Aaron Bacon farm, Farm street; William King's shop (near William 
Slavin's house lot), Farm street; Rudman's shop, last occupied by Wm. 
King, Farm street; Henry Goulding's farm, Smith street; Jesse Knapp's, 
Springdale park; Silas Bacon's, Main street; Harry Orcutt's, Springdale 
avenue; Dover Shoeing Forge, Springdale avenue; Dunn farm, Springdale 
avenue; Eliphalet Chickering's, Walpole street; Nathaniel Chickering's, 
Walpole street; John Breagy's, Walpole street; Billings Tisdale's, County 
street; Calvin Richards', Strawberry hill street; Luther Richards', Straw- 
berry hill; Elijah Dewing's. Dedham street, corner Mill street; Calvin Big- 
elow's, Dedham street; King farm, Powisset street; Blake's, Willow street; 
Hill's, Willow street, south of Newell's bridge. 

47 



DOVER FARMS 

James McGill's farm was the RICHARD BACON place, and was 
first settled in 1756. David Cleveland of Natick purchased this farm 
in 1773, and it remained for many years in the Cleveland family. 
Here Mrs. William Cleveland had a little store, which was started 
largely in the interest of millinery sales and work, but was later ex- 
tended to a variety of domestic articles. Daniel Mann, 2nd, pur- 
chased the original Bacon house, which has always stood on the east 
side of the road, in 1843, and remodeled it for his large family. 
Through recent changes in the erection of the beautiful residence of 
J. Grant Forbes, the mansion house has been moved by Mr. McGill to 
the east side of the road. — William Cleveland, George Cleveland, 
Chas. K. Kirby, Eugene Bachelder. 

Michael W. Comiskey's farm was the JONATHAN BATTELLE 
place. This was originally a part of Thomas Battelle's estate, and 
was probably settled about 1690. Here Capt. Ebenezer Battelle lived 
when he led the Springfield Parish Company of Minute IMen at the 
Lexington Alarm, and later engaged with his company in fortifying 
Dorchester Heights. This farm was purchased in 1811 by John 
Harding, Capt. Battelle's son-in-law. This place was designed by 
Miss Ann Harding as a parsonage for the First Parish Church, and 
was so willed, but dying suddenly, she did not have an opportunity to 
sign, with witnesses, the instrument, which she had already drawn, 
and the property was lost to the parish. When the present house was 
built much of the timber from the original house was used in its con- 
struction, because Mrs. Harding could not bear the thought of losing 
the old memories and associations. — Ebenezer Battle, Jr., Fred Dud- 
ley, Theodore F. Jones. 

Elbridge L. Mann's farm was at first a part of the Jonathan Bat- 
telle estate and was of early settlement (1753). The farm was sold 
in 1761 by EBENEZER BATTELLE to Nathaniel Battelle, who in 
1770 sold it to his son, Nathaniel, Jr., and moved to Natick, where 
he occupied the place now known as the Wiggin estate, near the Dover 
line. Mr. Mann's farm at one time was owned by John Rice and was 
known to the people of a past generation as the "Rice farm." Here 

48 




Residence of the late Elbridg' L. Mann. Farm seltled I7S3 



DOVER FARMS 

James Mann, Jr., and his brother, Lorenzo Mann, established, about 
1830, a butcher's business. They had carts on the road, which sup- 
plied the surrounding country with beef. It was a good thing when 
the last slaughter-house was closed. While they were not a menace, 
in the country, to public health or comfort, 3'et they were a nuisance 
in summer time. More or less beef packing for the Boston market 
was carried on in these institutions. The recipes— never committed to 
writing — for curing hams and making sausages, as used by Dover 
farmers, were unexcelled. The art, however, has entirely disappeared 
with the removal of the old families, which is a distinct loss to the 

culinary art. — James Mann, Jr. 

^ ^ ^ 

PLEASANT STREET extends from Main street to the Natick 
line, and was originally a part of the road leading from Med- 
field to Natick. It commands a magnificent view of Wellesley Col- 
lege and the surrounding country on the north, with here and there a 
beautiful view of the "winding Charles" and the Baker estate on the 
opposite shore. 

OLIVE RICKER, wife of Benjamin Ricker, purchased in 1864 
three-fourths of an acre of land of Ellis Mann and built the house 
thereon owned by the late Frank E. Bacon. The question may be 
asked how the owners of these little farms gained a livelihood? Mr. 
Bacon worked for many years as a care-taker at South Natick; when, 
after the erection of the Sanger schoolhouse, the town tried the experi- 
ment of consolidating schools, he transported the children in the north 
part of the town to the Sanger school. 

William Gibbon's little farm on Pegan hill, just off of Pleasant 
street, was purchased in 1853 by JAMES GIBBON, a shoemaker of 
Natick, who erected the buildings thereon. This house is located in 
the immediate vicinity of several early Indian homes, whose cellars 
can still be traced. It is to be regretted that no Indian songs, music, 
art-crafts or dances have been preserved to us from our native Indians. 
Western Indians "to-day are bringing gifts of their own to the civiliza- 
tion that absorbs them." It is found that they have songs for nearly 

49 



DOVER FARMS 

every act of life. Although a resident of Dover, Mr. Gibbon affiliated 
entirely with Natick, thus reversing the practice of a century ago, 
when the farmers across the line in Natick were annexed to Dover for 
parochial purposes. 

R. K. Rogers' farm was originally a part of Elbridge L. Mann's 
place. WILDER RICE purchased the land and built the house in 
1818. With the discovery of gold in California, Hiram Adams, Tv., 
son of the owner, was one of the first to go to the gold fields.* We 
recall how during the period of the Civil War everything had value. 
There was much thieving around town, and clothes left on the line 
at night were quite likely to disappear, line and all, before morning. 
The First Parish Meeting-house was entered and the carpets taken up. 
This struck dismay to the heart of the members of the Ladies' Benevo- 
dent Society, but friends came to their aid and carpets were soon laid 
again by the ladies of the society. — Samuel H. Jenkins, Frank Hawes. 

Warren Richardson bought his place of EVERETT COLBURN 
in 1881. The buildings were then unfinished, but were com- 
pleted by Mr. Richardson the year of his purchase. However small 
these little places may be, they all spell the sacred name of home. 
Around it have gathered happy memories and sacred associations. 

4* ^ ^ 

CENTRE STREET extends from Fisher bridge on the north to 
Medfield line on the south. As first laid out, this street did not 
follow altogether the present lines. It was the intention of the early 
settlers to have a direct road to Medfield from Dover centre, as shov.-n 
by a grant of land to Joseph Chickering, in 1750, which was bounded 
"west on land left for a way leading from Dea. Joshua Ellis' to j\led- 
field (Capt. Wotton place)." It was over this road, on the morning 
of the 19th of April, 1775, that the hurrying messenger, galloping into 
town from Needham, informed the inhabitants of the movement of the 
British and then turned and rode into Dedham through what is now 
Westwood. The cry was taken up, and the farmers hastily gathered 

*For a list of Dover residents who went to California, see Biographical 
Sketch of Otis Chickering in Dover Public Library. 

50 




Pine Grove on Centre Street 



DOVER FARMS 

on the village green, and in a short time were in readiness to march 
toward Lexington. 

Robert M. Tappan's "Clay Brook farm" is one of the old Dover 
estates. JONATHAN WHITING purchased the land of Elizabeth 
Fisher, widow of John Fisher of Needham, in 1755. Mr. Fisher lived 
on the north side of Charles river and owned an extensive territory in 
the Springfield Parish. Mr. Whiting cleared the fields, erected the 
first buildings and developed the farm. A cider-press was located 
here in the early time which served the surrounding country. Lovers 
of the good old New England days may rejoice that one relic of the 
fine and simple flavor of other times still exists in the cattle show and 
agricultural fair, which, annually given in several counties of the 
state, furnishes a pleasant social stimulus to rural life. Being an 
agricultural community, Dover was prominent in the organization of 
the Norfolk Agricultural Society. Elijah Perry, who settled on this 
farm in 1840, but later became a resident of Middlesex County, was 
interested in the project and is believed to have been the first to take 
that action which led to the incorporation of the Norfolk Society in 
1849, of which he was a leading officer. The interest in the society 
was actively kept up by Calvin Richards, Hiram W. Jones, Henry 
Goulding, Benjamin N. Sawin, Abner L. Smith, John Battelle, Wil- 
liam Tisdale, Timothy Allen, Capt. Walter Stowe, Daniel Mann, 
Joisah Newell, William Cleveland and the Rev. Dr. Ralph Sanger. 
To the cattle show the farmer brought his best cattle, sheep and swine, 
which were confined in long rows of pens. Here he competed in the 
plowing match and in the hauling match with his best matched oxen. 
Agricultural warehouses had on exhibition a great variey of farm 
implements which were examined by the farmer with great care and 
interest. Here was seen the first mowing machine, the Heath mower, 
which proved to be worthless, but was soon followed by the Ketchum 
mower, the Buckeye mower, and the Union mower, all of which were 
good machines. Here was exhibited the first tedder, the first spring- 
toothed horse rake, the first horse pitchfork, the latest improved plow?, 
cultivators and horse-hoes, threshing-machines, washing-machines, 
wringing machines, bed springs, apple parcrs, and numerous house- 
Si 



DOVER FARMS 

hold utensils. Nearly all the implements that have lightened farm 
labor have been invented since the organization of the Norfolk Agricul- 
tural Society. In the Horticultural hall were exhibited the choicest 
apples, pears, peaches and grapes of the county, together with a huge 
collection of big vegetables. The gardener put on exhibition his 
choicest flowers in great abundance and variety. The housewife 
brought her butter, cheese, bread, cake and preserves, with a liberal 
display of needlework in a variety of quilts and other useful articles. 
After about 1860 much attention was given to horse racing, and 
farmers were complaining "that at all the gatherings the supreme 
interest, which ought to be bestowed upon the merits of cows, sheep, 
pigs and chickens, was being diverted to the horse race and to the side 
show." From this time the county agricultural show commenced to 
decline. No part of the programme was enjoyed more than the Agri- 
cultural Fair dinner, which was largely attended in the building of 
the society. The after-dinner speaking was a feature. The Vice- 
President, the Rev. Dr. Sanger, often presided to the great enjoyment 
of the company, and some of his witty remarks are recalled to this 
day. — Dea. Jonathan Battelle, J. D. Sturtevant, Elijah Perry. 

The Chapel of the Needham and Dover Baptist Church once slood 
nearly opposite the last described farm, near several beautiful oak 
trees. After the organization of the Baptist church in Needham the 
chapel* was moved to Springdale avenue, and incorporated as the 
Dover Baptist Church. This little church had its part in the great 
work of separating "the church and state," which was primarily a 
Baptist idea. We find members of this faith protesting against being 
taxed for the support of the First Parish Church as early as 1774. 
To-day we all prize the religious liberty which the Baptists stood for 
and helped to bring about. Each church has had some special work 
to do in the development of the town, and in the cultivation of the 
higher civilization of the community, and we are glad to record the 
honor which is due this extinct church. 

Charles W. Plympton's place was originally the JOHN FISHER 

*Sold to the town in 1911 for a fire engine house. 

52 



DOVER FARMS 

farm, and was settled in 1767. The beautiful grove of pines on this 
farm was grown from seeds sown by W. Mason Richards, and is a place 
which challenges the attention of all passers-by. This was the first 
attempt in town at forestr)', which, when rightly understood, is not 
the planting of trees for ornament or shade, but is the science of raising 
crops* of trees for profit on land which is too sandy, or rocky, or hilly 
for cultivation. The pine is one of the best trees for this purpose, as it 
attains a merchantable size in less time, in this vicinity, than other 
desirable woods. The pine, by its growth, is said to earn an average 
net income of three per cent. — George Otis, W. Mason Richards,, 
Harvey Ambler. 

ERNEST F. HODGSON built for his own occupancy the house 
on the right in 1913. This house has the air and light needful for 
hygienic conditions in family life. Mr. Hodgson is the proprietor of 
the Wigwam Portable House, which is manufactured in Dover. The 
late Dr. Edward Everett Hale was much interested in Mr. Hodgson's 
unique houses, which solve for so many families the important ques- 
tion of a summer outing. Dr. Hale liked to inspect the houses, and 
playfully selected one that he would have bought had he been a 
younger man. 

THOMAS HODGSON built in 1897 the parsonage of the First 
Parish Church on land purchased of the heirs of Betsey S. Howe. 
This land originally belonged to Eleazer Ellis, a pioneer settler in the 
center of the town. In the one hundred and sixty-six years of its 
existence this is the first parsonage that the First Parish has owned. 
Mr. Caryl and Dr. Sanger owned their own homes. 

JOHN WILLIAMS, who converted a shoe shop into a dwelling 
house for his son-in-law, Isaac Howe, built the first house on the farm 
of the late Frederick H. Wight in 1829. The beautiful elms in front 
of the present house were planted by Mr. Williams. From the first, 

*It is an interesting fact that tlie world is now planting a million acres to 
forests each year. In the United States the Rev. Morrell Allen, a native of 
Dover, who was settled over the First Parish Church in Pembroke, Mass., In 
1801, was a pioneer in the planting of forest trees on soil that was poorly 
adapted to other crops. 

53 



DOVER FARMS 

older residents appreciated the founding of the Dedham Institution for 
Savings and the putting to interest of the pennies and the dimes and 
the dollars has often resulted in a great blessing in times of need. 
Twenty-five years ago almost every family in town had a savings bank 
account. With the birth of a child an account was opened to its credit. 
Accounts established by fond grandparents, to the amount of a hun- 
dred dollars, have often accumulated enough to add a thousand dollars 
to the estate of the persons for whom the account was originally 
opened. The lack of a savings bank account was everywhere accepted 
as an evidence of thriftlessness. Boys and girls often deposited their 
first earned money in a savings bank and so established the habit of 
thrift. Mr. Williams was one of the first to use and appreciate the 
savings-bank. — Francis Swan, Rev. George Proctor. 

Allen F. Smith's place was originally a part of the farm of Eliphalet 
Chickering, who probably settled here as early as 1730, and perhaps 
at an earlier date. Mr. Chickering sold this part of his farm in 1758, 
and it was later added to the Daniel Whiting estate. JOHN REED 
built a house here in 1783, and is recorded as an inn-holder the 
same year. John Williams bought the property in 1800, and new 
buildings were later erected on the present site. Here the Rev. Dr. 
Ralph Sanger settled at the time of his marriage and the parsonage 
became, for nearly half a century (until it was burned in 1857), the 
center of everything calculated to advance the best interests of the 
town and community. 

The present house on this estate was built by the late Mrs. Phebe 
A. Chickering in 1877. John Williams having bought this place in 
the year 1800, it is a convenient date at which to consider rural con- 
ditions. At that time the hoe, the scythe, the cradle, the hand cards, 
the spinning wheel and the loom were in use, as they had been for 
thousands of years before. Flocks of sheep grazed in the pastures 
and flax was grown in the fields. The food and clothing of the family 
were all produced on the farm. The wooden plow* was still used, 
and it was yet many years before the mowing machine and horse rake 

•A good specimen of a wooden plow can be seen in the collection of the 
Dover Historical Society. 

54 




Residence of Mr. George H. Thompson 




^ 



^ 

=< 



DOVER FARMS 

were invented. Commerce and travel were confined to the natural 
waterways and to slow and costly movements along poor roads. About 
this time there was great interest in turnpikes, and the Hartford Turn- 
pike was built across the south part of the town. As late as 1810 the 
people were clad in homespun. In a "Report on American Manufac- 
tures," made by the Secretary of the Treasury to Congress in 1810, he 
expressed the opinion that about two-thirds of all the clothing, includ- 
ing hosiery, and of house and table linen, worn and used by the inhab- 
itants of the United States, who do not reside in cities,* is the product 
of family manufactures. In this connection we might refer to the 
universal habit of borrowing, when it was so easy for the housewife 
to get out of meal, soap or butter, and the husbandman to want nails 
or a hammer. With the introduction of farm tools the thrifty farmer 
was often importuned by his less thrifty neighbor for the use of 
farm implements, but many a would-be borrower learned, Vv'ith Poor 
Richard, that "he who goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing." 

John Williams was the proprietor of the store on Dedham street, 
and did a limited business in supplying the few articles which could 
not be had at home. Money at this time was but little used in the 
ordinary affairs of life. The most profitable trade of all country 
stores was in spirits, and all — ministers, doctors, farmers and esquires 
— made use of it in about the same degree. "They habitually ate 
salted meat, and habitually quenched the resulting thirst with rum." 

The area on Centre street bounded south by Springdale avenue, 
and now occupied by the Sanger school-house and the town horse 
sheds, was once the site of three houses. Rufus Smith, at one time 
made shoes here, having moved to the spot a shop from the farm of 
Luther Richards on Strawberry hill. In 1843 WILLIAM FAULK, 
a shoemaker from London, England, bought this place. Mr. Faulk 
was a fine workman, and had the patronage of many of the best 
families in this and surrounding towns. He added to his shop from 
time to time, and it became not only his workshop but his house as 
well. 

♦The city population of the nation in 1800 was 3 per cent, of the whole. 

55 



DOVER FARMS 

Mr. Faulk sold land to MRS. FISHER A VERS, on which she 
remodeled the building erected by James H. Wight for housing 
shingles and clapboards kept in connection with his lumber yard, 
which was located on the town Common. This house stood near the 
present site of the Sanger shool-house and was later moved to Dedham 
street, and occupied a site some distance east of the late J. W. Higgins' 
house, where it was burned in 1902. 

WILLIAM FAULK built here a large tenement house, which stood 
between his house and that of Mrs. Ayers, which was removed, when 
the town purchased the land in 1873 for a school-house, to a site 
nearly opposite the house of the late Patrick IMcNamara, on Walpole 
street. This house was often occupied by three or four families, and 
with one exception was the only tenement house which the town has 
ever had. Some years after its removal it was torn down. This 
settlement was long called Faulkville. 

ITHAMAR WHITING, 1st, who inherited a half interest in his 
father's farm on Springdale avenue, sold his farm of seventy-three 
and one-third acres in 1774. While all trace of this place has been 
lost, it is believed to have been originally set off from his father's 
farm, and to have included the area opposite the town hall, bounded 
north by Springdale avenue, and east by W^alpole street. Mr. Whit- 
ing also sold, in 1774, his interest in his father's farm to his brother, 
Aaron. Mr. Whiting met with an injury — a very common thing in 
the age of logging, teaming, and rough farming — which affected his 
mind. He was a Free Mason, and in his condition the young men 
tried to induce him to divulge its secrets, but never a word would he 
say. All trace of him is lost after 1780, when his family ceased to 
be a part of the life of the community. 

Angus McDonald occupies a house which belonged to the LINUS 
BLISS, estate and was built by Mr. Bliss about 1880. This was one 
of the very first houses built for rent, with little or no land for cultiva- 
tion, in the history of the town. 

56 



DOVER FARMS 

Gustaf Headburg's house was built in 1870 by HORATIO 
NEWELL, who purchased the land and built the house, as he desired 
to return to the home of his ancestors, who were early residents of the 
town. 

Josiah D. Hammond's place has not been definitely traced to the 
original settler, but was probably the house-lot of Ithamar Whiting, 
who established a home in 1765. Here DANIEL GOOKIN lived, 
and his wife kept a private school in the house more than century 
ago. He was descended from Daniel Gookin, the friend of Cromwell. 
Roses grew around these early dwellings, from which the housewife 
distilled rosewater for flavoring, and yearly made that widely known 
sweetmeat, "consarve of roses," which is still made on some ancient 
farms. Here Mrs. Burrage had a weaving shop in connection with 
her home, where she did weaving for the housewives of the town. 
Some of these old homes had fine collections of coin and token money. 
To the mint the residents carried old silver, to be made into bright 
pine tree shillings and smaller coins. Later Spanish silver was in 
circulation and used until it was worn so thin that it took an act of 
Congress to make it a legal tender. Some fine specimens are 
recalled of the cents and half cents made by an act of the legislature 
in 1787. At this time it was difficult to roll metal, and so the first 
rolling mill in America was set up in Dedham for the distinct purpose 
of rolling the metal used in cutting these coins. — Josiah Knowlton, 
John Burrage, Richard Kenrich. 

HEZEKIAH BATTELLE'S farm, settled in 1784, was long ago 
deserted. The buildings have disappeared, but the ruins of the cellar 
can still be seen southward from the junction of Pine and Centre 
streets. The lilac bushes, which still bloom in the spring, are as 
old as the elms which shade them. Here the spotted tiger lily, said 
to have been first brought to this country from far-away Cathay, still 
grows by the door-step. The site of colonial homes, long since 
decayed, is often marked by the lilac, flowering currant, butter and 
eggs, and the beautiful lupines, which are uncommon nowadays. 
Our grandmothers inherited their love for flowers from their Puritan 

57 



DOVER FARMS 

ancestors. The life of the early settlers in New England irresistibly 
points to the tender affection which they had for the homes which they 
had left behind in old England. This love is in no way more plainly 
shown than in their flower-gardens, with its succession of flowers, 
which told and retold the story of the changing seasons by their 
growth, blossom and decay. The flowers which grow around us 
illustrate the life and history of our fathers. The "Indian pipe" 
recalls the council of Indian braves; the moccasin flower, the squaw 
berry, Indian tobacco and Indian hemp, all remind us of the life of 
the red men who once lived in these parts. We also find our ancestors' 
religious experiences and feelings expressed in Jacob's Ladder, the 
Benjamin Bush, Solomon's Seal, St. John's Wort, the Passion 
Flower, Life Everlasting, the Dragon's Head, the Judas Tree and 
Jack-in-the-Pulpit. Again we find in flowers suggestions which 
touched their daily lives and found expression in the names of com- 
rades and sweethearts, as Sweet Mar}', Sweet William and Bounc- 
ing Bet. An intimacy with nature is also found in the wind-flower, 
Snapdragon, Larkspur, Crane's Bill and Columbine. The blossom 
of the shad-bush reminds one of the passage of the shad up the 
stream, while the cranberry ripens at the season of "the crying of 
the crane," from which it derives its name. This was the birthplace 
of Dr. Isaac W. Sawin, for many years a leading physician in 
Providence, Rhode Island. — Joel Sawin. 

Jereome B. Snow of Sharon purchased in 1845 a part of the 
Hezekiah Battelle homestead, where his brother, JEDEDIAH H. 
SNOW, erected in 1847 the house now owned by William Wall. 
Pine Rock hill was for a time called "Snow hill," for this family, 
but in recent years the original name has been restored on all town 
maps. 

Andrew T. McCoy's place was also a part of Hezekiah Battelle's 
farm. The house was built by JOEL SAWIN in 1846. Michael 
Cunningham owned this farm for many years. He came to Dover 
when a boy, and lived in the family of Mr. Eastman. With the 
Sullivan Brothers he was one of the first of the Catholic faith to 

58 




The Josiah Draper House. Farm settled in lySj 



DOVER FARMS 

settle in Dover. For years previous to 1875 drovers with steel-yards 
thrown over their shoulder, passed through the town at irregular 
intervals, with droves of pigs which they sold to farmers; while in 
towns more remote from the public market place droves of cattle, 
which completely filled the road, were driven through the streets 
for sale to farmers, who usually put in at least a couple of steers to 
fatten during the winter, and which were sold in the spring to the 
local butcher. 

Irvin A. Paine's house was built by his father, JOHN R. PAINE, 
in 1851. The land was originally a part of the Josiah Draper farm. 
Here Mr. Paine has carried on for many years the manufacture of 
straw horse-collars, a very humane article for use in hot weather or 
in heavy teaming, which have found a ready demand in the Boston 
market. 

John McKenzie's farm was the original JOSIAH DRAPER place. 
Mr. Draper settled here in 1787 and erected the present buildings. 
He was for many years a prominent resident of the town. Our fore- 
fathers were much averse to the celebration of Christmas; adults in 
this town as late as 1875 had in their youth no Christmas presents, 
or ever saw an observance of the day. All farm work went on as 
usual; schools were in session, and it was only in the almanac that 
any reference to the day was found. How in contrast is an English- 
man's account of Christmas of the same period. Christmastides 
in my early life were all in the homes. It was just Christmas, but 
so full of joy for young and old, so warm from the yule-fires and 
so fragrant with good cheer, that I wonder whether we have not lost 
track of something even in the great and generous bounty we pour out 
now — something of the Home Christmas. 

Benjamin W. Leighton's farm was set off from the Draper estate 
and was first occupied by MOSES DRAPER in 1819. It passed 
out of the Draper family in 1887, when it was sold by Leonard 
Draper, who had here made shoes for many years. Mrs. Draper 
was one of those who engaged, with other women of the town, in 

59 



DOVER FARMS 

making straw bonnets, a home industry by which many women earned 
from a hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars. The straw braid 
was put out by the straw works of neighboring towns, especially 
Medfield. During the winter and spring straw teams visited Dover 
each week, and during the season took out an enormous quantity of 
manufactured goods The books of manufacturers show that in some 
communities, not larger than Dover, the women earned as much as 
$7,000 in a single season in sewing straw bonnets. 

R. MURDOCK McKENZIE'S house was buih by himself in 
1887, on land which belonged to Miss Ann Harding. ]\Iiss Harding, 
whose estate came to her through inheritance, was a direct descendant 
on her maternal side of Thomas Battelle, who settled in Dover as 
early as 1667. Her family therefore represented nearly two hundred 
and fifty years of Dover life. In the early sixties photograph 
albums — introduced into this country from Paris — became popular 
and were found in every home. Prominent in the collection were the 
photographs of uniformed soldiers of the family or neighborhood. 
Every young lady expected a photograph album as a present. 

JESSE NEWELL settled the farm until lately occupied by Miss 
Carrie Newell, at the time of his marriage in 1792. Here in the 
early time was heard the sound of the loom, as Mr. Newell engaged 
in weaving, as well as farming. This tract of land commands an 
extensive view and is noted for the beauty of its situation. Winthrop 
A. Harvey purchased this estate a few years since. He has made 
extensive changes in the house, but it still retains its original old- 
time appearance. — John A. Newell. 

ELEAZER ALLEN'S farm, now owned by the Norfolk Hunt 
Club, was settled at a very early time, (1712) in the development of 
the town. Originally the fann included the Jesse Newell place and 
others in the vicinity. From 1881 to 1891 this farm was used as a 
branch of the "Experiment School" established in 1848 at South 
Boston for the teaching and training of feeble-minded youth. The 
South Boston school was the first state institution established in 

60 




"^ 






DOVER FARMS 

America for the training of this class of individuals. The late Mrs. 
Kate Gannett Wells, speaking of this work, says: "There is no more 
interesting phase of psychology than that of the development of the 
low grade, feeble-minded child into an intelligent, self-guiding person, 
with due regard for the rights of others." Since the Dover farm 
proved a pleasant and attractive home to a number of these un- 
fortunate youth, and helped to demonstrate the importance of per- 
manently moving the institution to the country, we may be glad 
that this town had some part in this work, which is of great im- 
portance and is not as yet fully understood and appreciated. The 
question still remains, "What is to be done with the adult feeble 
minded? Shall they be allowed to return to the world to multiply 
their kind, or shall they be permanently housed and supported by the 
state?" An estate of 70 acres having been purchased in Waltham and 
suitable buildings erected, the Dover branch was closed in 1891 and 
the members moved to that city. This beautiful estate is now owned 
by the Norfolk Hunt Club. A fine club house is prominent among 
the Club's group of buildings. — Eleazer Allen, Jr., Jesse Newell, Jr. 

Note : — The Allen homestead in the north part of Medfield has been in 
the possession of the family since 1673, and during King Philip's War the 
house was set on fire. Members of this family owned land which extended 
through to the Natick line. JOSEPH ALLEN'S farm was divided by 
the line which separates Dover from Medfield. There is evidence that the 
first house on this farm, John A. Newell place, Medfield, was located on 
the Dover side of the line, and is supposed to have been built in 1701. 
Beside the door of the old house, white daffodils were planted, which have 
continued to bloom to this day. Mr. Allen died in 1727, and his house was 
soon after removed and a new one erected on the Medfield side of the line, 
yet through more than 200 years these beautiful flowers have struggled on, 
and each succeeding spring gladdened some heart, or perchance reminded 
someone of this early home planted more than two centuries ago. 

^ ^ ^ 

PINE STREET extends from Centre street to the Medfield line. 
As a street it is older than Centre street, and for many years 
was the chief road leading to Medfield. Over this street there rolled 
in from Medfield, in the years gone by, the picturesque tin pedler's 
cart, which supplied many household articles not found in the country 

61 



DOVER FARMS 

store, and the opportunity thus afforded of svv'apping rags, paper, 
feathers, and old junk for bright new tinware appealed to the thrifty 
housewives. We can recall the long, bright red cart, with its rack 
in the rear for rags, and a row of brooms on either side, with a great 
variety of baskets, brushes and woodenware. Within the cart, when 
the lid was lifted, was exhibited an innumerable variety of tinware 
of all shapes and sizes used in housekeeping, with glass and other 
wares. The tin trunk, carried on the driver's high seat, contained a 
wealth of little articles which appealed to the imagination of the chil- 
dren, and were as eagerly examined as the finest collection would be 
to-day in a city store. With changed conditions and department stores, 
the tin pedler's cart has disappeared, yet it fondly lingers in the 
memory of many individuals. Pack peddlers traveled over this territor}' 
for many years; the inventory of the stock of a Massachusetts pedler 
who died in 1711 is on record, and shows what was carried in those 
days. He had for the women: fans, combs, pins, thimbles, beeswax, 
thread, buttons, black beads, sewing silk, scissors, shoes, silk, and 
linen handkerchiefs, round, square, sewing and knitting needles, silk, 
cambric, calico, linen, muslin, lace, Holland, ribbon, hair, worked 
and worsted stockings, leather bags, mace and nutmegs; for the men; 
jack knives, Jew's-harps, penknives, razors, ink horns, shirts, shoes, 
leather gloves, shoe buckles, saddles, bridles, male pillions, bootjacks 
and books and ballads. 

EBENEZER MASON settled the farm which is but a short dis- 
tance from Pine street, in 1725; while the house is in Medfield, the 
barn and the larger part of the land is in Dover. The Mason family 
of Medfield owned a large tract of land in Dover, as well as in Med- 
field, and this farm was originally a part of the Mason estate. Here 
Charles Newell lived for many years. He was a very jovial man and 
a great favorite with his family. Mr. Newell represented a class now 
entirely extinct in the community, who looked for recreation and social 
intercourse entirely at home among neighbors and friends. They 
formed a society of their own as exclusive as Free Masonry, to which 
were admitted kindred spirits, who revelled ns often as they met in 
the wit, humor, and story-telling of the company. 

62 



DOVER FARMS 

JOSIAH WHITING built a house on Pine street, east of Center 
street in 1888, (when he retired from his farm and general wood 
business) which was burned in the winter of 1905. The living of 
a century and a half ago is well illustrated by the will of Nathaniel 
Whiting of Dedham, made in 1760, by which he gave his wife the 
use and improvement of his dwelling-house, household furniture and 
books, with yard room and a common use of his well of water, also 
one cow well kept, twelve cords of good fire wood cut fit for use and 
delivered at her door, ten bushels of good Indian corn, three bushels 
of good rye, two bushels of good malt, one bushel of good wheat, and 
a hundred pounds of good pork. This place is now owned by 
Katherine E. Powers, who was the first to erect a set of buildings in 
Dover of concrete construction, which illustrates how desirable and 
practical this method of construction is for country residences. 

Richard Heard occupies a place which was a part of JOSIAH 
WHITING'S estate. The house originally formed a part of the 
Dover poor house, and was moved to its present site and remodeled 
by Mr. Whiting in 1865. The fact that Dover once had a poorhouse 
shows that the town had some slovenly farmers where "nothing was 
kept in order, nothing was preserved. The wagon stood in the 
sun and rain, and the plow rusted in the field. The crops were 
destroyed by wandering cattle, or they were put in too late, or too 
early, or they were blown down, or caught by the frost, or devoured 
by bugs, or stung by flies, or eaten by worms, or carried away by birds, 
or washed away by floods, or dried up by the sun, or rotted in the 
stalk, or heated in the crib, or they all run to vines, or tops, or straw, 
or cobs," some of the accidents that lie in wait between the plow and 
the reaper. — Joseph Durocher. 

Jonathan Whiting's farm has been in the Whiting family for more 
than a century, having been purchased by his father in 1802. This 
was the ASA MASON place and was first occupied by him in 1755. 
Mr. Mason was a cooper and carried on his trade in connection 
with the farm. On these farms there was, in addition to farm work, 
the peeling of bark, the cutting of ship timber, the making of oak 

63 



DOVER FARMS 

trunnels, the burning of charcoal, and with the introduction of trade 
with the Azores, the Canaries, Spain, Holland, and the West Indies, 
the making of hoops and staves, which were shipped in bulk and set 
up by native coopers largely in the West Indies. Here many of these 
industries were carried on for many years, especially the making of 
hoops, the burning of charcoal, and the cutting of cord wood. Josiah 
Whiting was for many years one of the largest dealers in these prod- 
ucts in the county. This farm had its peach orchard. In the early 
time peach trees found a sustaining soil and grew to a large size 
compared with the short lived, sickly peach trees of to-day. Under 
a single tree an ox-cart load of luscious peaches was often gathered. 
It is a tradition that this farm was originally settled by a member 
of the Chickering family, but the fact is not established by record. — 
Theodore Newell, Jonathan Whiting, Senior, Josiah Whiting. 

George McKenzie's place was originally the JOSEPH CHENEY 
farm and was settled by him in 1782. He later moved to New Hamp- 
shire and the place was owned for a time by William Bacon. This 
farm is of interest as it was, at one time, the town poor farm. Here 
Daniel Whiting manufactured shoes for a time, having learned the 
trade from Harrison G. O. Hooker, whom he employed to teach him. 
— Samuel Jones. 

^ ^ ^ 

WILLOW STREET extends from Newell's bridge to Dedham 
street. While there was much contention about the build- 
ing of roads in this vicinity the demand was created by the 
mill interests, the proprietors of which co-operated in the 
work, and even took the contract for building a part of the road.. 

JOSIAH NEWELL, JR., settled the Newell homestead on the 
right in 1797. This estate was called the "Island." The mansion 
house was built by BENJAMIN NEWELL in 1851; and the ruins 
of the cellar can still be seen. It was burned in 1894. Josiah 
Newell's house was located south of the mansion house. This house 
was moved into Needham in 1868, and is still standing. Newell's 

64 



DOVER FARMS 

store and Noanet hall were located south of the homestead. — Edmund 
B. Otis. 

HENRY SCHOMAKER of Needham purchased a part of the 
Newell estate in 1876. Later he moved a section of an addition that 
had been built to Josiah Newell's store, and made it into the little 
cottage now standing on the original Newell estate. 

Mills of various kinds were early established on Charles river, and 
for many years this was a place of extensive business operations. A 
store was located here for more than seventy-five years which was first 
opened by JOSIAH NEWELL, JR. Noanet hall was built in con- 
nection with the store, and marks a spot of much interest. It was 
burned in 1884. Here the sessions of the first Sunday-school, 
organized in 1818, were held. Here, in the days of church fairs, was 
annually held the festivities of the churches, which were largely 
attended by the residents of this and surrounding towns. The bed 
quilt drawn by lottery was a popular feature, and produced much 
merriment. Erastus Gay, a bachelor from Westwood, who was con- 
nected for many years with Gay's dry goods store, where Dover resi- 
dents did their trading, always carried away, if possible, the bed quilt 
furnished by the ladies for the fair. The hall and the store meant 
much to this community for nearly a century. The first Post Office 
at Charles River stood on the left-hand side of the street, nearly 
opposite the house of Josiah Newell, Jr. For many years there were 
circulated through the mails to the residents of the town lottery adver- 
tisements. Now and then an investor was successful, but the lottery 
exerted a baneful influence everywhere. Even in the text-books used 
in the schools there were frequent references to lotteries. The diffi- 
culty in raising money for public purposes early led to this practice 
among the American Colonists. Lotteries were organized for the 
erection of churches and the building of educational institutions, the 
paving of streets, and the building of public markets. A lottery was 
organized as late as 1806, to raise money to erect a building at Har- 
vard College. The advertisements of the Louisiana Lottery were 
especially addressed to residents previous to 1870. 

65 



DOVER FARMS 

JEREMIAH MARDEN built in 1826 the house of the late John 
Quinn. He moved here from Newton. Mr. Marden was a stone- 
mason by trade, and built the stone walls around the well-known 
Bussey farm at Roslindale. During the last years of his life he kept 
a little store in this house. 

CHARLES MARDEN built the house opposite in 1850. After 
making several trips to California he settled in Dedham, and the place 
was owned for many years by William Hill, the proprietor of the 
paper mill. Mr. Marden was a carpenter by trade, and interested in 
the native forest products of the town, which furnished white oak for 
ship timber; white pine for shingles, and clapboards; chestnut for 
rails and ties; maple for cabinet work and open fires; ash for spokes 
of wheels, and elm for hubs; hickory for boards and planks; spruce 
for coverings; cedar for posts; butternut wood for dye stuffs; birch, 
witch-hazel, and alder for summer fuel; and pitch-pine for kindlings. 

Mrs. Agnes Davidson's house was built by EDWARD BLAKE. 
The land comprised in this and the two above-mentioned places was 
a part of the Lemuel Richards estate on Dedham street. People lived 
happily in these little homes removed from the bustle of the world. 
On week days they got out of town by train, but on Sunday they 
had no communication with the outside world. Religious services 
were held in Noanet hall, and later in the Charles River School-house. 
— Ezra Keys. 

Cornelius Sullivan's farm was the SAMUEL FLOYD place, known 
for many years as the "peat lot." Mr. Sullivan was the first person 
of the Celtic race to settle in Dover. With the introduction of air-tight 
stoves much peat was cut in the meadow lands. This was burned in 
large pieces in these stoves, which kept a slow, safe fire at night or 
when the house was deserted by the family in attending church ser- 
vices on Sunday. Mr. Floyd purchased the land in 1849 and built 

the house. — John Bums. 

^ ^ ^ 

DEDHAM STREET extends from the railroad station to Ded- 
ham line, and forms a part of the road which was laid out as 
far as Noanet's brook in 1687. This road is referred to in 1711 

66 



DOVER FARMS 

as leading to Eleazer Ellis's farm, which was one of the first settled 
in the center of the town. On the right, opposite the depot, is 
the old oak which is the most conspicuous tree that has escaped 
the axe, and stands as a historical witness of a time long since past, 
although the elms in the vicinity are more than a century old. We 
hope every effort will be made to preserve this tree. People care- 
lessly admire a tree's beauty and appreciate its shade, and, of 
course, its latent possibilities as timber, but how few of those who 
have seen the ease with which a great tree is felled, realize the wonder 
of its growth, the years and changes that went into its making, and 
the years and changes required before another like it can tower in its 
place. This is the best specimen that remains to us of the "monarch 
of the woods," and has been made the seal of the Tisdale family 
association of America. We like to think of the thousands who have 
ridden over these roads in the years that have past, on that great 
home-coming day. Thanksgiving, when the descendants of the Puri- 
tans turn with peculiar interest to the old homes and with devotion 
to those who remained to welcome them. A charm rests upon this 
festival, whose origin is strictly American, and the nearer one gets to 
the good old ways of observing it, the more satisfaction there is in its 
observance. One by one Training days, Fast day, and other days, 
which were instituted by the fathers, have been dropped, but this 
festival still remains and holds the hearts of the people. While the 
day has lost much of its religious significance, it is yet strong in family 
reunions and out-of-door amusements. With the establishment of 
this festival, services were held in all meeting houses on Thanksgiv- 
ing day, and one of the two sermons of the Rev. Benjamin Caryl, 
which were printed by his people during his ministry here of nearly 
fifty years, was a Thanksgiving sermon. Few of the hundreds of 
labor-saving devices of the present day were then in existence. The 
herbs for the turkey or chicken dressing were grown with great care 
in the garden. Spices for the pies and pudding all came in the rough 
and were prepared in the mortar. Even cooking salt was the com- 
mon rock salt which had to be pulverized. The stoning of raisins, 
the cutting of citron and orange peel, the boiling of cider, all took 
time, but added a zest to the festival. Last, but not least, was the 

67 



DOVER FARMS 

cooking. The turkey was roasted on the spit before the great fire, 
while the pudding and the chicken pie were consigned to the brick 
oven. Pies of every conceivable variety were made by the hundreds 
and included a supply for the winter's consumption. Among other 
things, the hou.sewife gave herself to the making of garments, for all 
those who were to have new dresses must appear in them at Thanks- 
giving. The same deft fingers which trimmed the bonnet also cut 
and made the clothes in which the boys appeared at this autumnal 
festival. 

COL. DANIEL WHITING built in 1761 the old tavern which 
was destroyed by fire Jan. 21, 1908. The original building was 
added to by Newell and Bullen, and later by John Williams. Here 
John Reed at one time lived, and had a slaughter house, being the 
first parish butcher. While there was no register for guests, yet the 
traditions of the old tavern are well preserved, and there are those 
still living who remember its sanded floors and wooden boxes on which 
the soldiers and sons of soldiers of three wars sat and discussed the 
questions of the hour.* The balls at the Williams Tavern were largely 
patronized. Aaron Miller furnished the music, and his celebrated 
violin, which was known for miles around, is still in existence. Young 
people attended these balls in large numbers, and cheerfully paid the 
charge of five dollars a couple for the ball and supper. The land was 
once a part of the Ellis estate. Mr. Whiting's barn stood opposite, on 
ground which was added to the Common a few years since. The 
cellars of early houses were very small, as shown by the cellar of the 
tavern, which can still be traced. These cellars were not always warm 
enough to keep fruit and vegetables from freezing in extreme weather ; 
even cider froze in barrels in them, so the habit was early established 
of drying apples in the fall instead of trying to keep the fresh fruit, 
so apple-paring bees were common among the young folks, which fur- 
nished the means of much social pleasure. A source of much amuse- 
ment among young men in the spring of the year was the spearing 

*The bricks in the chimney of the old tavern were laid in clay, below the 
ridge-pole, a general custom of the time. The absence of lime rock in the 
vicinity was a great drawback to the colonists. 

68 




Doorway Whiting — Williams Tarern, built lydi 



DOVER FARMS 

of fish. This was practised at night with a torch in the bow of the 
boat; while the attention of the fish was caught by the bright light it 
was speared by the skillful spearman. The fishing tackle found on 
many Dover farms consisted of a set of small rods, hooks and lines, 
which were used for minnow fishing; traps and lines for pickerel 
fishing through the ice ; poles and lines for river fishing and the long- 
handled spear. These articles in their use, not only furnished much 
pleasure, but an abundance of fresh fish as well. The small boys 
snared the rabbit and the partridge, while the trapping of fur-bearing 
animals, the mink, otter and muskrat, was made a profitable business 
by some of the small farmers of the town. The coon was hunted in 
the fall of the year and furnished no small amount of evening amuse- 
ment. Excursions of young people after the haying season were some- 
times made to Wachusett and Monadnock, and the mica gathered from 
the rocks in Fitzwilliam was carefully preserved as a memento of the 
trip. Others, for a day at the seashore, went to Squantum, where 
neighborhood picnics were held, or to Rocky Point on Providence bay. 
Girls brought up to spinning sometimes did no other work in the 
household, and at marriage had to learn to cook and to do general 
housework. Often congenial spinners would "join work'' and spin 
together for a week or two. After two skeins were done, the day was 
spent in such recreation as pleased them. — Isaac Howe, Reuben 
Newell. 

MRS. ABIGAIL MANN purchased the land and built the house 
in 1843 which now forms the parsonage of the Evangelical Congre- 
gational Church. The society came into possession of this estate 
through the bequest of Mrs. Mann, and erected the front part of 
the present house on gaining possession of the property. The original 
house forms the ell of the parsonage. 

Mrs. J. W. Higgins' house was built by MRS. MARIA HASKELL 
in 1871, who occupied it until her death. — Rev. T. S. Norton. 

EPHRAIM WILSON owned a house which once stood near the site 
of the Sanger School house. It was moved to Dedham street in 

69 



DOVER FARMS 

1873, and was burned in 1902. It was used for many years as a tene- 
ment house. 

ELEAZER ELLIS, JR., who is believed to have settled here at the 
time of his marriage in 1718, built where the old parsonage stands. 
This was originally a part of his father's estate. John Griggs, a 
weaver, lived here and probably carried on his trade in connection 
with the farm. The present house was built by the Rev. Benjamin 
Caryl,* a minister of the First Parish Church, in 1777, and is a good 
specimen of the colonial house erected at a time when all the material 
was cut on the place. Oak was used for the frame and covering 
boards, while a plenty of pine was found for floors and interior finish. 
The shingles which covered the roof were shaved, and the laths split 
from trees which grew on the farm. Several generations of those who 
have been identified with the best interests of the town have lived 
here. This was the home of Dr. George Caryl, the first, and, until 
1912, the only resident physician which the townf had ever had. Miss 
Sarah Miller, a grand-daughter of Dr. Caryl, was the last one in 
this vicinity to make the decorative paper work which was so com- 
mon and highly prized during the period of the Revolution. Her 
cuttings represented a variety of subjects, and were usually made of 
white paper. When mounted and framed they adorned many Dover 
parlors and sitting rooms. A fine specimen of Miss Miller's work is 
found in the rooms of the Dover Historical Society, a bequest to the 
society by its President, the late George L. Howe. The Caryl family 
had many rare and interesting articles, and among others its string of 
gold beads, which had been worn by the ladies of the family for 
many generations. It was long believed that gold beads possessed 
healing qualities, and from time immemorial a string of gold beads 
worn around the neck has been considered by many people efficacious 
in all blood diseases. — Timothy Ellis. 

WILLIAM FISHER purchased in 1773 a tract of land which 

•The town named in 1911 the new school house the Caryl School In memory 
of this family. 

tin 1912 Dr. Arthur B. Emmons, 2nd, became a resident physician. 

70 




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DOVER FARMS 

belonged to the David Wight estate, and cleared a farm which was 
located south of Dedham street and was reached by the road running 
between the farms of Rev. Benjamin Caryl and Deacon Ebenezer 
Smith, which was discontinued by the town in 1862. This farm was 
located north of the "New Mill," and was long since abandoned. 
Some of the noble elms planted by Mr. Fisher still remain, and adorn 
the place. — Jesse Fisher, Joseph Richards, Joseph Fisher, Frederick 
Barden, Fisher Ayres, James Adams. 

The New Mill Company organized in 1815 and built a plant 
at the falls of Noanet. In connection with their mill the company 
erected a double tenement house* which was occupied by employees of 
the company. After the failure of the enterprise various poor fam- 
ilies, who paid no rent, lived here for some years, but by 1850 the 
house had disappeared. 

Miss Juliet B. Higginson's "Mill farm" was formerly owned by 
Michael W. Comiskey and was originally settled by DEACON EBEN- 
EZER SMITH. Mr. Smith purchased the land of William Fisher, 
and is believed to have settled here in 1775. In connection with the 
large wholesale milk business built up by Mr. Comiskey, it is interest- 
ing to note that Lewis Smith, Jr., established here, many years ago, a 
retail milk business. He left home in season to deliver his milk each 
morning to his Roxbury customers. — Daniel Sullivan. 

Edward K. Dandrow's place was originally the little farm of 
PATRICK WALL, who purchased the land and erected a house in 
1856. Here he reared ten children, several of whom are now success- 
ful Boston merchants. — Edward James. 

DAVID WIGHT, who settled in the parish as early as 1716, had 
a house which was located nearly opposite Mr. Dandrow's. This 
farm was later owned by Nathaniel Battelle, the first resident of the 
parish to graduate from college. Mr. Battelle was not a successful 
farmer. At one time he asked of Capt. Samuel Fisher the privilege of 

*For the location of this house see Map of Dover published by the town 
in 1831. 

71. 



DOVER FARMS 

picking up firewood on his lot. Mr. Fisher humorously replied that 
"he could not grant the favor, as he had sent two sons to Harvard, both 
of whom would probably need to pick up the wood themselves." 
Farmers were careful about contracting debt, as poor debtors for many 
years could be confined in jail. 

LEWIS B. PAINE'S house was built by himself in 1891 on land 
purchased of Daniel Sullivan. It stands not far from the spot on 
which was built nearly two centuries ago the barn of David Wight. 

LEMUEL RICHARDS' farm is beautifully situated on Noanet's 
brook, since made famous by the story of "King Noanett." In early 
sales of real estate in this vicinity, "Noanet the Indian" is referred 
to, as he had his home in the vicinity of Noanet brook. This farm 
has been occupied since 1785, and was originally a part of a larger 
tract of land, which belonged to Joseph Chickering. In the cultiva- 
tion of these farms there was as much prejudice against the use of 
buckwheat as there was iii the Connecticut valley against the eating 
of shad, both were regarded as food for "poor folks." Consequently 
there was little buckwheat grown on Dover farms. Corn was the great 
staple and in lieu of money was often used in the purchase of real 
estate, as illustrated by a sale made by Lemuel Richards in 1780, 
of thirty acres of land on Dedham street, for which he received four 
hundred and forty-four bushels of Indian corn. Augustin H. Par- 
ker has recently erected on this estate a large brick house of the French 
manor t>'pe and appropriately retains the name of Noanet farm. — 
Seth Blake, Lieut. Charles C. J. Spear. 

LIEUT. LEMUEL RICHARDS in his settlement first built, in 
1764, on the farm lately owned by R. J. Gilmore, but later sold it 
and built on that part of his farm which is now owned by Mr. Parker. 
Lemuel Richards served in the last French and Indian War, and was 
a Lieutenant in the Revolution. He had a noted posterity in William 
F. Draper, a General in the Civil War, an ambassador to Italy, and 
in Eben S. Draper a former Governor of the Commonwealth. In busi- 
ness life, both were connected with the great Draper industry at Hope- 

72 




°< 



DOVER FARMS 

dale, Mass. The farmhouse on this place was built by Calvin Bar- 
den; here Elijah Dewing had a blacksmith's shop. Facing on Mill 
street Philip C. Stanwood has built an attractive house. — Capt. Geo. 
Scott. 

Dr. Francis B. Grinnell owns the place which was converted into a 
little farm by CALVIN RICHARDS about 1846. The original 
house, since removed, was the ell of Mr. Richards' house, which he 
moved to the spot. This homestead was for many years the home of 
Capt. Gardner C. Whiting. In the sail packet days there was no 
going abroad for pleasure with the residents of this town. A trip to 
Europe was an epoch in one's life. With the accommodations, con- 
veniences and rapidity of steamboat travel came pleasure trips to Eng- 
land and the Continent. Miss Irene Freeman Sanger, who belongs to 
the greater Dover, was, as far as known, the first native of the town to 
go abroad. Mrs. Gardner C. Whiting and daughter Eleanor are be- 
lieved to have been the first residents of Dover to have gone abroad to 
make an extended tour for study and pleasure. They have been fol- 
lowed by a numerous and ever increasing number, so that a trip to 
Europe is now a common thing among the residents of the town. Dr. 
Grinnell has built a beautiful house, which is a fine addition to the 
constantly increasing number of attractive estates for which Dover is 
now noted. 

Frederic H. Curtiss' farm was the home of EBENEZER RICH- 
ARDS. This beautiful farm was taken up by Mr. Richards previous 
to the Revolution, (1769). He died in 1784 at the age of 40 years 
and 3 days, and the following statement was made by the Clerk in 
the records of the town : "The first death since Dover was incorpor- 
ated." Ebenezer Richards, Jr., being the only heir who had arrived 
at the age of 21 years, inherited the farm. As he settled in Newton 
the farm was sold in 1792. The river farms, where residents have 
protection from encroachment, and can feel the influence of this beauti- 
ful stream, are appreciated to-day. Here Deacon Calvin Bigelow 
lived for many years, and had a blacksmith's shop in connection with 
his farm. The house on this farm, which Mr. Curtiss is endeavoring 

73 



DOVER FARMS 

to preserve in its ancient simplicity, has a secret chamber in the 
chimney which has been made accessible by a flight of stairs. This 
house thus perpetuates in the secret chamber a custom common during 
the French and Indian wars. On this farm was carried on a series 
of domestic manufactures, including the braiding of straw, at which 
the Bigelow boys worked as well as the girls. — ^William Richards, 
Calvin Bigelow, Charles A. Bigelow, William F. Humphrey, Eben 
Smith. 

Miss Alice Richards of Needham owns the farm which was origin- 
ally a part of the Ralph Day estate. The present house was built by 
JOHN DAY, who settled here in 1786, having purchased the land of 
his father, and the elms in front of the house were planted by his hands. 
This farm was later owned by Daniel Mann, who lived here with 
his family for many years. He was a carpenter and master builder 
and carried on an extensive business in connection with his farm. 
Mr. Mann was the first Dover agent appointed by the Dedham Fire 
Insurance Company, and here was the iirst fire insurance agency 
in town. In connection with this farm there was a foot bridge across 
Charles river, which was maintained for many years, for the con- 
venience of those wishing to cross the stream. It was washed away 
one year by the spring freshet and was never rebuilt. — Luther Rich- 
ards, John C. Coombs. 

John H. Brown's farm was long in the Day family. Ralph Day, 
a mason of Dedham, in his will made in 1677, bequeathed his real 
estate to his sons, John and Ralph. The home place in Dedham was 
given to John, who was required to help his brother Ralph to build 
"as good a house as my said dwelling house is, as speedily as the 
said Ralph Day shall desire, after my decease, in convenient time, so 
as may be just." Mr. Day owned land on Charles river, and here 
his son RALPH DAY settled in 1706. He was a weaver and prob- 
ably had a "weaving shop" on his farm. In the trying times before 
the Revolution, Ralph Day was a member of a committee appointed 
by the town of Dedham, to post notices on the Springfield Parish meet- 
ing-house, forbidding the use of tea. At this time our grandmothers 

74 



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found in Jersey tea, a substitute for the cup they loved so well, a fact 
which their great-great-grandchildren read to-day in their school 
histories, so this town, in common with all the older towns in New 
England, is rich in institutions and in customs which illustrate and 
throw light on the early history of our times. Edward Bowers, who 
once lived on this farm, was a cooper by trade. He carried on his 
business here and made many casks and staves for the Boston market. 
The small house in connection with this estate was Ralph Day's 
carpenter shop, which was converted into a dwelling house by Daniel 
Mann. On this farm could usually be seen, in the yard under an 
apple tree, the grindstone which had been used for a century in 
grinding scythes and edgetools. The scythes used on the farm were 
hung in summer time from a projecting limb, ready to be taken down 
and ground when a boy was at hand to turn the heavy grindstone, 
or leisure could be found. Hops, which were used by every housewife 
in making yeast, were grown on these old farms. A fresh pole was 
cut each year, as the hop vine flourishes best on a greenwood pole. 
— Ralph Day, Ralph Day, Jr., Daniel F. Mann. 

George D. Burrage's farm was the JONATHAN DAY place. Mr. 
Day settled here in 1743, but sold the farm in 1781. It was pur- 
chased by Jabez Baker in 1792, and occupied by his son, Jabez, Jr. 
This farm has never been sold since, coming to the present owner by 
inheritance. Jabez Baker, Jr., built the present house. At one time 
he had a slaughter house in connection with his farm. The first house 
stood between the present house and the river. On this farm in recent 
years has been exhibited the best market gardening in the town or 
vicinity. The variety of soil and consequent diversity of crops found 
on some eighty-acre Dover farms would astonish a westerner. The 
best of clay, the finest of sand, several grades of gravel, stoneless 
plains, rock-ribbed hills and lands for pasturage and the dairy are 
often found on the same farm In this variety of soil are gravelly 
knolls adapted to bean culture, lowlands often too wet for cultivated 
crops but valuable as grass land, with cranberry bogs, and acres here 
and there of the best of soil for the cultivation of potatoes, com, cab- 
bages, onions, asparagus, beets, turnips, parsnips, celery, tomatoes; 

75 



DOVER FARMS 

with patches devoted to melons, cucumbers, squashes, and pumpkins. 
Of the cereals, corn, oats, barley, rye, wheat and buckwheat yield a 
good return; while of fruits the apple, pear, peach, plum, cherry, with 
the strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, gooseberry, currant and 
grape flourish. In forestry the white oak, black oak, white pine, pitch 
pine, birch, walnut, maple, chestnut, ash, alder and witch hazel are 
native woods. A like variety of soil could not be found in some entire 
western states, but all existed on the farm where the writer was born 
and reared in the west part of Dover. While the farmers of the town 
did not apply scientific methods to their farming and did not know 
the analysis of the soil, yet they did know from long experience how 
to cultivate their soil, how to diversify their crops better than many 
graduates of agricultural colleges. They could judge farm animals 
as to weight, age and value, with an accuracy that belonged only to 
the expert. They had a judgment often called "horse sense" that is 
lacking in many farmers of to-day. 

Thomas Smith's place was first settled by JESSE AYRES, who 
bought the land of Enoch Davenport in 1794, and built the house 
thereon. The place was later owned by Moses Putnam, who kept a 
little grocery store here for a few years. He was a book binder by 
trade and soon returned with his family to Boston. The boys on these 
farms had little spending money; all they earned often went for the 
purchase of clothes, and boots and shoes. From Thanksgiving to 
Fast day they often kindled the kitchen fire for a cent a morning. 
During the winter term of school some boy took care of the district 
school house and often blew the church organ for five dollars a year. 
In the fields they picked up stones after the ground had been seeded 
down in the spring; in the winter the boys shoveled snow on the 
highway, and at other times drove ox-teams. They snared the part- 
ridge and trapped the rabbit. In summer the boys picked the farmers' 
peas and strawberries and later gathered quantities of berries in 
field and highway. In the fall the gathering of nuts was made a busi- 
ness, and on the river farms the boys picked cranberries behind the 
rake, and in the spring gathered "flood cranberries," which found a 
ready sale. On the day before the Fourth of July, boys gathered pond 

.76 



DOVER FARMS 

lilies by the hundreds, which Ihey sold on the streets of Boston the 
next day, and afterwards rode to their hearts' content on the ferry 
boats which were run free on the Fourth of July. Boys who liked to 
turn a penny bought fire-crackers by the box and retailed them to their 
companions. In the fall boys sold the old Farmer's Almanac, mak- 
ing a house-to-house canvass of the town. There are those still living 
who, as boys, did all these things on Dover farms entirely independent 
of the ordinary household and farm work, in which they co-operated 
from their tenderest years. Boys and girls had to invent and make 
their own playthings. The girls made dolls with a corn cob for their 
bodies. The boys made little water wheels which they placed in 
the brooks. They also made pin boxes out of elder wood, and in the 
spring they made willow whistles and in the fall trumpets out of the 
stems of squash leaves. Skating and coasting are the only old-time 
sports that remain to the boys and girls of to-day. — Thomas L. Smith. 

Henry Rich bought twenty acres of land of Jabez Baker, east of 
Chestnut street, in 1871, and built the house which is now standing 
thereon. Small farmers resorted to various means to gain a livelihood. 
With the establishment in 1875 of the "Country Week" as a depart- 
ment of the Boston Young Men's Christian Union, Dover homes were 
opened and during the summer received parties of Boston cash boys 
for a ten days' vacation. In this way some thirty boys were enter- 
tained during the first summer, 1875, in one family. Later other 
homes were opened, and children in large numbers were boarded in 
town. This practice was followed by the taking of children as per- 
manent boarders from Boston institutions, which has been kept up in 
some families to the pre.'^ent day. About 1885 farmers commenced to 
take city boarders, and for a number of years prominent Boston fam- 
ilies, including college professors and the most gifted musicians, spent 
their summers here, immediately recognizing the beauty of the town 
and its great natural advantages. 

George Chamberlain of Westwood built the last house on Dedham 
street, going east, in 1896. It is one of the few houses for rent in 
Dover. 

77 



DOVER FARMS 

MILL STREET extends from Willow to Dedham street. It 
furnishes a picturesque walk along the south bank of Charles 
river. Dedham street, with which it is connected on the south, was 
long called the "Boston road," because most of the travel between 
Dover and Boston was over this road. After the building of the 
Mill dam in 1828, and perhaps earlier, those who drove into Boston 
through Roxbury paid toll. The writer recalls this old toll road, 
which was the last one in the vicinity. Farmers who drove over this 
road on their way to Boston with ship timber, charcoal, wood hoops, 
hay, and provisions, found that city a century ago a place of less than 
25,000 population, or about the size of Gloucester at the present time. 
The appearance of the old town with its narrow, crooked streets, 
irregular houses, and cultivated gardens, is said to have resembled 
the Gloucester of to-day. 

4. 4. 4. 

STRAWBERRY HILL'^ STREET extends from Dedham street 
to Wilsondale street. Land on this hill was spoken of about 
the year 1700, as "on the cart road to Natick," and in 1705 it was 
called a highway. There was a road or path at a ver}' early time, 
which extended from Strawberry hill to Powisset, where the Dedham 
settlers turned their young stock and dry cows for pasturage. Along 
this road the barberry, for which Dover has long been known, grows 
very common. For many years these berries were gathered with great 
care and found a ready sale at home and in the Boston market. While 
this shrub is found in other parts of the town, yet it grows most 
abundantly here. The barberry is not indigenous to New England, 
but is a native of northern Europe and also of China. It is thought 
that the shrub was introduced here by the early settlers. There is, 
however, a shrub (Berberis canadensis) found growing wild in the 
states of the middle west, the berries of this plant appearing singly 
instead of in racemes. The barberry is not associated with the Indian, 
as some have thought. The bark and root of the Berberis vulgaris 
have been used in medicine, but not from Indian precedent. Although 

•Spoken of in a grant of land to Nathaniel Richards In 1697 and previously 
referred to In 1687. 

78 




<3 



■a 

'•o 
2J 



■^ 



DOVER FARMS 

in the settlement of the town "here were old trees, tall oaks and 
gnarled pines," yet it was not as difficult in the early time to clear the 
fields as it would be to-day. The growth of timber was heavy and the 
Indians adopted the custom of annually burning the land over, which 
practice was kept up by the Dedham settlers; committees being 
appointed by the town for this purpose. Having felled the trees, and 
a little later disposed of them by fire, the land yielded easily to culti- 
vation. 

Richard W. Hale's farm was the THOMAS RICHARDS place. 
Members of the Richards family were early owners of real estate 
here. Edward Richards gave farms to his sons, Thomas and Josiah, 
both of which were located on Strawberry hill. Thomas Richards 
settled this farm in 1748, and the place continued in the family for 
more than a century. This was the farm of Calvin Richards, who 
was, for many years, and in so many ways, identified with the best in- 
terests of Dover. An addition was made to this house a few years since 
through the purchase of the old "Dunmore" house on Baker place, 
Milton Lower Mills. This house was built in 1785, torn down, and 
the material shipped to Dover, where it was re-erected as an addition 
to Mr. Hale's house in 1910. — Calvin Richards, Jeremiah Allen. 

Hubbard C. Packard's place was the RICHARD RICHARDS 
farm, which was formerly a part of the estate of his father, Thomas 
Richards. It was first occupied by Richard Richards, a Revolution- 
ary Soldier, in 1780. Before the establishment of seed farms, each 
farmer grew his own seeds and carefully dried and packed them in 
the "seed box," which was always kept in a dry place. To gather 
delicate, thinly-covered, vegetable seeds and cure them under unfavor- 
able climatic conditions was no easy task, yet it was accomplished 
on every Dover farm year after year. — Luther Richards, Luther Rich- 
ards, Jr., Arthur F. Dodge. 

Charles S. Bean's house was built by EDMOND SAWYER in 1872, 
on land purchased of Calvin Richards. Mr. Sawyer was an organ 
manufacturer, and came to Dover to engage in that business. Mr. 

79 



DOVER FARMS 

Bean's house illustrates the French roof type, which was very common 
a half century ago; several houses of this construction were built in 
Dover about 1870. 

ALPHONSO DAVIS, a locomotive engineer, built a two and a half 
story house, (which was one of the pleasantest houses on Strawberry 
hill) west of Mr. Bean's house in 1873. The house was burned in 
1875, and the spot now marks an abandoned site. 

Richard W. Hale owns the house on the right; it was originally 
a glue factory, and was moved to its present site in the early sixties, 
and converted into a dwelling house by PEREZ L. FEARING. 

JOSIAH RICHARDS settled the farm until recently owned by the 
heirs of the late Miss Mary Bullard. Here Mr. Richards built in 
1737. Seven of his sons took part in one or more engagements in the 
Revolution, for they "were born with courage in their hearts." There 
was great joy in these homes when peace was declared in the 
Revolution. Life had been hard. It is recalled in some places that 
"the women ran from house to house waving their aprons and crying 
for joy." It seems simple enough to-day, but it was something else 
in that day to stand by the Declaration of Independence and sup- 
port the war. As John D. Long has said, "The men who signed the 
Declaration knew not but they were signing warrants for their own 
ignominious execution on the gibbet. But it was not only the personal 
risk; it was risking the home, the commerce, the lives, the prosperity, 
the honor, the future destiny of 3,000,000 innocent people, men, 
women, and children. It was defying on behalf of a struggling chain 
of colonies, clinging to the seaboard, the most imperial power of the 
world." It was in this important work that almost every Dover home 
had its part. It is not unusual to find more than one house on an 
early farm. Such was the case in the estate of Josiah Richards, who 
had two houses, one of which, "the small house," was occupied by a 
son. His widow was given by his will the best room in the "mansion 
house" and the weaving shop adjoining the house. The first school 
in the east part of the town was kept in a building, perhaps the weav- 

80 



DOVER FARMS 

ing shop, which stood in the front yard. Asa and Abijah Richards 
were coopers and probably carried on their trade here. They owned 
this farm at different times. It was later purchased by Nathaniel 
Wilson, who lived here for many years. This place was purchased 
a few years since by John Parkinson, Jr., who has a beautiful estate. — 
Asa Richards, Solomon Richards, Michael Gary. 

Humphrey Clancy's farm was originally a part of the Josiah Rich- 
ards estate and was separated from the original farm in 1851. Luther 
Richards purchased the old East school-house, when it was sold by the 
district, and moved it to this site. It was converted into a dwelling 
house by MICHAEL McLINE, who purchased the land in 1863, and 
was used as such for many years The present house was built by 
Mr. Clancy in 1900. "The small house" on the estate of JOSIAH 
RICHARDS was located on the north side of the road beyond 
Humphrey Clancy's, where the ruins of the cellar can still be seen It 
was occupied by Abijah Richards in 1780. Samuel Wilson, Jr., 
John Chickering and others lived here. It became a part of the 
original farm again through purchase by Nathaniel Wilson in 1821. 

SAMUEL WILSON, father of Samuel, Jr., lived opposite his 
son's house, as transfers of real estate show, although no trace of a 
house can be found there to-day. Solomon Richards sold, in 1792, 
to Samuel Wilson, Jr., housewright, four acres of land, bounded as 
follows: "beginning at the southwesterly corner of Samuel Wilson's 
house lot," etc. In case of a failure of water on the land, Mr. Wilson 
was given "full liberty to pass with cattle to a spring of water near 
the northwest comer of said land." The spring referred to is found 
in the next iield at the west, which definitely locates Samuel Wilson's 
house lot. 

O home, so desolate and lorn. 

Did all thy memories die with thee? 

Were any wed, were any bom, 
Beneath this low roof-tree? 

81 



DOVER FARMS 

Whose axe the wall of forest broke, 
And let the waiting sunshine through? 

What good wife sent the earliest smoke 
Up the great chimney flue? 

Did rustic lovers hither come? 

Did maidens, swaying back and forth 
In rhythmic grace, at wheel and loom. 

Make light their toil with mirth ? 

Did child feet patter on the stairs? 

Did boyhood frolic in the snow? 
Did gray age, in her elbow chair. 

Knit, rocking to and fro? 

The murmuring brook, the sighing breeze. 
The pine's slow whisper cannot tell. 

Low mounds beneath the hemlock trees 
Keep the home secrets well. 

— Whittier. 

COL. EBENEZER BATTELLE'S house was reached by continu- 
ing on the cart road, from the end of the town road to land of the 
late George D. Everett, where the cellar hole can still be seen. Some 
time between 1727 and 1735, Ebenezer Battelle bought this tract of 
land, which belonged to Nathaniel Richards, and built a house. He 
sold the farm in 1772 to Moses Richards. Col. Battelle was prom- 
inent in all town affairs leading up to the Revolution. He served on 
many committees and his name appears on the stone base of the 
"Pillar of Liberty" erected to William Pitt, which stands on the 
Dedham Church green. The house on this farm, like many others in 
town, was con.sumed by fire. It should be remembered that the danger 
of fire was ever present and always distressing wherever frame build- 
ings were found. In the early time all chimneys had to be swept once 
a month in winter and once in two months in summer. Simple pre- 
cautions were always taken and in every household before retiring 

82 



DOVER FARMS 

for the night a bucket of water was left in the kitchen to be at hand 
in case of accident. Probably no buildings were insured against fire 
before the year 1800. In 1798 the Massachusetts Mutual Fire 
Insurance Company was formed, but the rates were so high in the 
shape of premiums and deposits that insurance among farmers was 
almost prohibitory. This company issued seven-year policies at 
fifty-five cents per hundred on single wooden buildings. It was 
customary to raise money by subscriptions for the partial relief of 
sufferers; this practice continued until about the close of the Civil 
war. One of the last subscriptions, which was a most generous one, 
was raised when Alonzo Wentworth of Bridge street lost his barn by 
fire in 1867. The story is still told of a witch who visited this house 
one day, and told the inmates about the cooking of a piece of pork 
which was "found to be browned to a crust on the outside and frozen 
inside." As this feat in cooking was actually accomplished here with 
the old-fashioned fireplace, it was received as a sure proof that the 
person was a witch. — Moses Richards. 

-«• 
THOMAS LARRABEE'S home is marked by a picturesque, though 

deserted house.* This place was first occupied by Mr. Larrabee 

soon after the close of the Revolution, and the house was raised by 

his Revolutionary comrades, who turned out to help him build it in 

1778. The men of Strawberry hill were unmistakably patriots, as no' 

less than twenty farmers took part in the Revolutionary War from this 

locality alone. Here Deacon Joseph Larrabee lived and willed this 

little property to the inhabitants of Dover to aid in the support of the 

worthy poor. Joseph Larrabee used to speak of a service which he 

attended in December, 1799, in the Meeting house at South Natick, 

in memory of General Washington. The draping of the pulpit in 

black greatly impressed him, as he had never before seen anything of 

the kind. Washington's death was not generally noticed in this 

vicinity, but the fact that he once visited South Natick may have 

prompted this observance. It was fitting that Mr. Larrabee should 



♦Removed in 1910. 

83 



DOVER FARMS 

have been present at this service, as his father, Thomas Larrabee, 
was a member of Washington's Life Guard in the Continental Army. 
The executor of the will of Mr. Larrabee, who provided for a 
slate stone for his grave, found great difficulty in procuring one, at 
the time of his death, as they had so completely passed out of use. 
At first field stones were set up to mark the graves of early settlers, 
followed by slate, which gave place to marble, which in time has 
been succeeded by granite in a variety of shades and designs. 

STEPHEN GAY, who served in the Continental Army, had his 
little farm here which, after his death in 1778, was absorbed by the 
Larrabee estate. The Balm of Gilead trees (planted before the 
Revolution) which grow around the ruins of his dwelling, still 
flourish, and number at present more than fifty. From these trees, 
residents of Strawberry hill have gathered for many years the aromatic 
and fragrant buds for their "Balm of Gilead bottle," a panacea for 
all cuts and wounds. Previous to 1818, when the McLean Asylum 
was opened there was no public hospital in this country for the 
care of the insane. As late as 1845 many insane persons were con- 
fined in the almshouses and jails of the commonwealth. At that 
time there were men who had been chained for twenty years in out- 
buildings, sleeping on straw, while young women fared no better. On 
some of these old Dover farms insane persons, whose names need not 
be given, were confined for years until death gave them a release. 

The JAKE place, where the cellar is still well stoned and holds 
its shape, is reached by continuing at the right, from the end of 
Strawberry hill street. Jake was a colored man who married a white 
woman. His wife was a native of Strawberry hill. Objections having 
been made by her family to a marriage with the man of her choice, 
she declared in a fit of anger that she would marry the first man who 
offered himself. Jake, hearing of this rash vow, proposed marriage, 
and was accepted. 

SAMUEL WILSON, wLj married Hannah Ingraham, had a home 
still further south, in the open field, where he settled in 1781. He 

84 







"^ 



^ 

^ 



•^ 



f^ 



"13 



a< 



s 



DOVER FARMS 

sold the fann in 1791 to John Jepson, a shoemaker, who, on his low 
bench with lapstone, awl and waxed ends, made and repaired the 
farmers' shoes. An Indian war club or stone hatchet, which was 
picked up on this farm, is still recalled, on which Mr. Jepson sharp- 
ende his awls for many years. The relic was later in the hands of 
Joseph Larrabee. The farm has long since been abandoned, and 
the only reference to the Jepson family is now found in the records 
of the town. Old residents used to say that there was once a little 
burying ground south of the Jepson place, where some of the first 
settlers were buried, but recent search has revealed no stones or 
mounds. On some of these old farms there was the employment of 
mildly insane and feeble-minded persons, together with the services of 
the town's poor, who were knocked off to the lowest bidder at the 
annual town meeting. There was also the little bundle man who 
traveled through the town for some years to the terror of young chil- 
dren. He was loaded with innumerable small bundles, too numerous 
to be carried all at one time, and so he left them by the roadside to be 
returned for when relieved of his burden further on. Thus it took 
him all day to cover a few miles, and at night he slept in any bam 
where darkness overtook him. 



WILSONDALE STREET extends from Strawberry hill 
street eastward to the Dedham line. It is a road of great 
interest, as on it was located the first settlement in Dover. The records 
relating to roads are very scanty. The Legislature passed a resolve 
in lj?94, requiring all towns to issue maps. The plan* of the Dis- 
trict of Dover made under this law and deposited in the archives at 
the State House, throws but little light on the subject, as only the 
main thoroughfare is laid down. At first there were Indian trails 
across the town, followed by bridle paths, which were later developed 
into farm ways, followed in due time by the highways as they exist 
to-day; such in brief, is the evolution of Dover roads. Wilsondale 

♦Reproduced in "The Founders of the First Parish," published in 1908 by 
the Dover First Parish Church. 

85 



DOVER FARMS 

street furnishes a picturesque drive, under the shadow of large rocks 
and bending trees, over hills and through valleys, which have been 
trodden by the foot of man for many centuries, and inhabited by the 
white man for more than two hundred and fifty years. When we 
compare the date of settlement, with the growth and development of 
the United States, we realize the place which the Old Colony occupies 
in the history of our country. 

Joshua L. Woodward now owns the original Baker settlement, 
which was the home of Jabez Baker in 1775. This farm was settled 
in 1735, and was first owned by DANIEL BOYDEN of Dedham, 
who sold it to Ebenezer Newell in 1738. The employment of farm 
labor has always been an interesting and perplexing question. In 
the development of the town, and in the clearing of farms, the labor 
was at first largely performed by the settlers themselves, aided by 
neighborhood help. When the farmer, axe in hand, laid warfare 
to the giant trees and laid bare acre after acre of the virgin soil, there 
was a logging bee for the piling of the logs in the clearing. When 
there was a new house or barn to be put up the neighbors came to 
do the raising, and when a building was to be moved from one site to 
another, the farmers turned out with half the oxen of the township 
to do the moving. Again the whole community gathered when a sick 
neighbor's crops needed to be harvested and carefully stored them in 
barn or cellar. The busy housewife in her turn had the quilting 
party, and in the fall came the husking bee, which was given more 
for sociability than for profit. — Charles Draper, Clement Bartlett, 
John Clancy. 

John A. Sullivan's farm, just off from Wilsondale street, was 
originally the DAVID FULLER place, and the land was long in the 
Fuller family. It was settled in 1755, at which time the present 
house was built, Mrs. Arnold Wight who lived here represented a 
class of women now wholly extinct, who went out nursing. She 
cared for many a Dover mother and at the same time did all the house- 
work and cared for the new-born baby, as well as the other children 
in the home she had entered. In her day, Mrs. Wight brought peace 

86 



DOVER FARMS 

and tranquility to many a farmer's home. In cases of fever and 
long illnesses the neighbors took turns in "watching" in the sick room. 
They often showed their good will by preparing "barberry water" to 
slacken the thirst of the fevered patient. No finer spirit of brotherly 
kindness could be found than that which was exhibited here for a 
century and a half, among the plain people of this town. A hundred 
of Theodore Parker's Miss Kindly have lived in Dover homes. Her 
hands are thin, her voice feeble; her back is bent; she walks with 
a staff — the best limb of the three. She wears a cap of antique pat- 
tern, yet of her own nice make. She has great, round spectacles, 
and holds her book away off the other side of the candle when she 
reads. For more than sixty years she has been a special providence 
to the family. How she used to go forth — the very charity of God — 
to soothe and heal and bless. How industrious are her hands! how 
thoughtful and witty that fertile mind. Her heart has gathered power 
to love, in all the eighty-six years of her toilsome life. When the 
birth angel came to a related house she was there to be the mother's 
mother; aye, mother also to the new-born baby's soul. And when the 
wings of death flapped in the street, and shook a neighbor's door, she 
smoothed down the pillow for the fainting head; she soothed and 
cheered the spirit of the waiting man, opening the curtains of heaven 
that he might look through and see the welcoming face of the dear 
Infinite Mother; nay, she put the wings of her strong, experienced 
piety under him and sought to bear him up. — Arnold Wight, Cornelius 
Sullivan. 

Richard H. Bond occupies the original Wilson farm. HENRY 
WILSON and Samuel Bullen of Dedham had land granted to them 
in June, 1640, "in ye corner beneath and next unto Mr. De Enganes, 
the lot to be divided between them." A memoranda appears, that 
"Henry Wilson is content to lay downe this grant if he may be pro- 
vided for elsewhere." This indicates that he had an eye to another lot. 
In September, 1640, it was recorded that Edward Allyn had given 
Henry Wilson a small piece of land "to sett an house upon beyond 
ye lotte of William Bullard toward the north." He was also granted 
by Mr. Allyn six acres more for "planting ground beyond Vine brook." 

87 



DOVER FARMS 

Whether Mr. Wilson built on either of these lots we are not informed, 
but it is a tradition in the family that he settled on the Dover farm 
when he built his first house in Dedham in 1640. There was a grant 
of land in 1687 at "high rock" near the house of Henry Wilson. This 
grant locates his house at that time on the present Wilson farm. 
"High Rock," in the westerly part of Westwood, is not far distant from 
the Wilson farm, and has been known by that name from time 
immemorial. 

What was the life on this first settled farm? The house was of 
logs with two rooms, one a living-room and the other a sleeping 
room. As the children grew in years and increased in numbers they 
found a sleeping place under the eaves which was reached by a ladder 
from the puncheon floor beneath. In time there was live stock on 
this farm. It did not, however, increase rapidly, as the settlers could 
not house their stock in the winter. In feeding cattle there was no 
way of cutting hay except by the sickle; scythes were not invented 
until 1655, and were some years in coming into use. The ground was 
dug up with the hoe, until there were oxen to drag the wooden plow; 
iron plows did not come into use for many years afterwards, as farmers 
in all civilized countries, believed that iron plows would poison the 
soil. Many years after the invention of the scythe the cradle came 
into use, but then only small fields of grain could be grown. One 
who had used this implement wrote, "To swing a cradle against a 
field of grain under a hot summer sun was of all farm drudgeries the 
severest." Corn, beans, pumpkins, and turnips were grown in the 
garden, and rye and barley in the field, which was threshed with the 
hand flail and winnowed by the autumn breeze; the same rude hand- 
labor tools were used that the nations of antiquity had farmed with. 
Bears were numerous and were trapped, as well as rabbits and part- 
ridges. The fur of animals was hung up in the log house to keep out 
the blasts of zero weather. 

Flax was grown from the first and was tended, after the first 
planting, by the busy housewife. The living room was a little fac- 
tory where the linen and wool yarn was spun, the candles dipped, the 
soap boiled, the cheese made, the shoes cobbled, and the homespun 
dyed and fashioned into clothes for the whole family. From woolen 

88 




Clay Brook Road 



DOVER FARMS 

yam, stockings, mittens, and caps were knitted. The farm tools were 
so simple as to be made by Mr. Wilson himself or by the village 
blacksmith. This was the age of the tinder-box and the tallow 
candle; there were no cooking ovens or friction matches. Mrs. Wil- 
son "knew the profession of housekeeping in all its old-fashioned 
complexity, as she worked at it from dawn to starlight, with no rest 
except the relief of flitting from one task to another." In sickness 
there was no doctor, as there was no knowledge of medicine except 
"a medley of drastic measures which were apt to be as dangerous as 
the disease." This farm has never been out of the ownership of lineal 
descendants of Henry Wilson since its settlement to the present time. 
— Ephraim Wilson, Nathaniel Wilson, Ephraim Wilson, Ephraim 
Wilson. 

^ ^ ^ 

CLAY BROOK road is one of the oldest streets in town. It was 
at first called Natick path (1666), and later "the Indian path 
from Natick to Dedham" (1669), and was referred to as the Clay 
Brook road in 1728. It extends from Center street near Fisher's 
bridge to the Natick line. It was over this road that the Apostle Eliot 
frequently rode in carrying on his work of superintending the Indian 
mission at Natick. This road furnishes, independent of its historical 
associations, one of the most picturesque drives to be found in the 
Metropolitan District of Boston. 

HOMER PIERCE built for his farm help in 1890, the house on 
the left near the Natick line, now owned by Granville Colburn. 

John Bacon had an early grant of land at the extreme northwest 
part of Dedham on Charles river, where he settled in 1683. This land 
was later occupied by his descendants. There were two houses on the 
farm in 1784, one of which was probably the original home of JOHN 
BACON, which was long since removed. In 1728-9 his two sons, 
John and Michael, received deeds from their father of the land sur- 
rounding their dwelling houses, bounded west by Natick line. Michael 
settled on his father's farm. Here was located a cider-mill, which 
dates back more than a century, and may have been first used by the 

89 



DOVER FARMS 

original settler; at any rate, it was on the farm in 1784. — Ephraim 
Bacon, Ephraim Bacon, Jr., Samuel Perry, Lowell Perry, Jonathan 
Perry. 

CALVIN H. SAWIN'S house, now owned by William E. Smith, 
was built by Mr. Sawin in 1847, and was a part of the original Bacon 
estate. Mr. Sawin was a ^.arpenter and did much work in Natick and 
surrounding towns. 

N. D. Marr's house was built by WARREN SAWIN in 1848. It 
was a part of the Michael Bacon farm. On this place there is a 
cider-mill in operation, which is now the only one in town. — Frank M. 
Sawin. 

Benjamin N. Sawin's farm was originally a part of the John Bacon, 
Jr., estate. After the farm passed out of the Bacon family, it was 
divided. THOMAS SAWIN bought the west half, and Capt. 
Charles Morse the east half. In 1858, the old house was removed 
and new houses were built on both farms. Benjamin N. Sawin had 
for many years, in connection with his farm a picnic ground on 
Charles river. This was a popular resort, and lagely patronized by 
the residents of the surrounding country. It is now no longer used 
for picnic purposes. It was through the bequests of Mr. and Mrs. 
Sawin that the Sawin Memorial Building on Dedham street, — the 
home of the Dover Historical and Natural History Society — was 
erected. This society was organzed in 1895, largely through the 
concerted efforts of Ansel K. Tisdale, George L. Howe, and Mrs. Amy 
H. Higgins. Both Mr. Tisdale and Mr. Howe became respectively 
Presidents of the Society. 

E. T. Phillips' place was originally the east half of John Bacon, 
Jr.'s farm, which was first settled in 1716. CAPT. CHARLES 
MORSE built the present house in 1858. Francis Gay bought this 
farm, when only eighteen years of age, and here reared his family. 
The farmer who laid stone-walls by moonlight had not been taught 
to play; he found out of-door amusement in fishing, trapping, hunt- 

90 



DOVER FARMS 

ing, and in story-telling at the tavern or the country store. It was 
recreation to go to the muster, attend on training days, auctions and 
Fourth-of-July celebrations, while "raising bees" and "planting bees" 
as they came along helped to break the monotony of farm life. Work 
on the highway was not unwelcome, while the breaking out of the 
roads when piled high with snow in winter was a real pleasure. In- 
door games of cards and "fox and geese" were indulged in from 
Thanksgiving to Fast Day, but were never touched after the latter 
date in many families. No games were played on Saturday evening, 
as it was too near Sunday. The influence of the old custom of begin- 
ning Sunday at 3 o'clock on Saturday afternoon was felt long after 
the custom had been given up. 

ANDREW DEWING was an early settler on the Clay Brook road. 
His house is spoken of in the Dedham Proprietors' Records, in 1669, 
as "being on the south side of Charles river within a turn of the said 
river, and adjoining to the place where ye great brook enters Charles 
river." Mr. Dewing later lived in Needham and built, as it is 
believed, a garrison house in that part of the town, which later became 
Wellesley. This farm was later owned by Thomas Battelle, who was 
one of the first settlers west of Strawberry hill. In 1692 the records 
speak of Thomas Battelle's "old field" next to Charles river. The 
following appears in the town records in 1679, "Granted timber to 
Tho. Battele neare Naticke for a hundred roods of 2 or 3 rayle fence." 
Thomas Battelle came to Dedham about 1850. He built a house 
which is said to have been on Lowder street, (Dedham), which was 
for many years in the family. He is believed to have returned to 
Dedham center after giving his Dover farm to his son, Jonathan, 
who in turn sold it, in 1725-6, to Nathaniel Battelle. It then con- 
sisted of 23 acres of land. Although the farm has long since been 
abandoned, the cellar-hole can still be seen east of the Sawin picnic 
grounds. Colonial houses were always set low, almost on the ground, 
and were banked high with earth as winter approached to protect the 
vegetables in the cellar and to add to the warmth of the houses. Stakes 
were driven about two feet from the building, boards set up and the 
space filled in with earth. Boys were taught habits of thoughtfulness 

91 



DOVER FARMS 

and care-taking in sodding the top of the banking that the walls of the 
house might be protected from the earth. The Battelles owned a 
stretch of land which extended from Charles river, near Trout brook, 
south to Springdale avenue. 

David M. Smith occupied a farm which was settled by ROBERT 
STEARNS, who built a house thereon in 1855, which was burned in 
1891. Mr. Smith rebuilt the house in 1897 and added a greenhouse, 
both of which were later burned. This spot now marks an abandoned 
home. 

John Myer's place* was a part of Jonathan Perry's farm, and was 
first occupied about forty years ago. Like all other places on the Clay 
brook road, this little estate is of interest as this section of the town 
was so early visited by the Dedham settlers. For many years large 
quantities of white oak were cut on Dover farms. Since the advent 
of the automobile, in which the use of oak enters very largely, espe- 
cially for spokes of wheels, there has been an immense inroad upon real 
white oak throughout the country, and as an article of timber it is now 
very scarce. Much timber of a heavy growth was annually cut off 
and sawed into boards and plank at the nearest saw mill. So farmers 
always had a plenty of dry timber at hand for all farm purposes. 

R. M. Tappan's farm houses, the older of which was once a 
cooper's shop, was converted into a dwelling house by PEREZ L. 
FEARING, while the other house was built by THOMAS H. 
JOLLIFFE some twenty years ago. The trees in the orchard on this 
farm were grown in the nursery of William Tisdale on Hartford 
street, who about 1835 established a nursery where he grew fruit trees 
which, for many years, supplied the needs of the country round. 
Henry Goulding also had a nursery on Smith street. In the early 
settlement of New England, fruit trees were brought from England, 



•Several little houses for summer occupancy have been built on the Clay 
Brook road in recent years which do not call for location or description in 
these pages. Vacations were unknown before 1870 and summer outings 
unthought-of twenty-flve years ago. 

92 



DOVER FARMS 

but as they did not flourish, the experiment was tried of bringing the 
seed over for planting; this practice was more successful, and soon 
flourishing orchards were found which were greatly appreciated by the 
English settlers, as well as coveted by the Indians. Trees are still 
standing, which are said to have been grown from seed brought over 
from England. Many native apple trees were grafted to the Baldwin, 
Porter, Russet, and other popular varieties. Men especially skilled 
in the art of grafting, did in the spring of the year much grafting of 
fruit trees for the townspeople. Joseph A. Smith and William Tis- 
dale are especially remembered as being extensively employed to do 
this kind of work in Dover and surrounding towns. The wood of 
fruit trees was utilized; that of the pear tree being used for wood 
engraving, and that of the apple tree for all kinds of small knife- 
handles. These woods found a ready sale. 

4" ^ 4* 

DOVER STREET extends from Baker's bridge to Natick line. 
The Needham school land,* north of this street, is of interest 
as illustrating a custom of an early time. Soon after the incorpora- 
tion of the town of Needham, Timothy Dwight of Dedham gave the 
town forty acres of land, in what is now Dover, for the benefit of a 
school. Mr. Dwight did not complete the gift before his death, but 
a title was subsequently obtained by the town from his sons. While 
the income was always small, and furnished but little aid in the support 
of a school, yet it is interesting to still locate the "Needham school land" 
of nearly two centuries ago. The Dedham settlers laid out in 1659 a 
dividend of corn land,t which was largely located in the present terri- 
tory of Wellesley, but included the estate of the late Benjamin P. 
Cheney and the Needham school lands. 

Benjamin P. Cheney's estate in its settlement was the home of 
JOHN JONES, JR. The estate has been added to from time to time, 
and now contains some two hundred acres, which, with its lawn and 
roads, is one of the most beautiful estates in eastern Massachusetts. 

•Since added to the Cheney estate. 

tHorace Mann's Third Field Day paper of South Natick Historical Society. 

93 



DOVER FARMS 

The first purchase was made of Hezekiah Fuller in 1740, by John 
Jones, Jr., of Weston. In the transfer the land is described as fol- 
lows: "A tract of land lying on a neck of Charles river, in the 
northerly part of Needham, near Natick, containing seventy-two acres 
and twenty- four rods." There was an error in location, as the bounds 
of Needham never extended across Charles river on the south. The 
original bounds of Dover, established in 1729, took in all the land 
and inhabitants west of the present Westwood line. Here Mr. Jones 
built his house and reared his family. The farm houses on this estate 
were built within recent years by Mr. Cheney. The estate is now 
owned by William H. Baltzell, who has erected a beautiful house and 
otherwise improved the grounds. Here Colonel Jones heard petty 
court cases in the colonial days. He was a magistrate under King 
George III, and when he was suspected of favoring the King in the 
trying days before the Revolution, the Sons of Liberty in the vicinity 
waited on him and under the spreading elm trees, still standing on 
this estate, he gave up his commission, and in after years was a loyal 
supporter of the new government. — Adam Jones, Israel Loring. 

MRS. BETSY HART, wife of William Hart, bought in 1858, a 
piece of land of Elijah Perry, and built a house thereon, which was 
located near the entrance to the Cheney estate. This house was occu- 
pied by various families until purchased and removed by Benjamin P. 
Cheney in 1880. 



HAVEN STREET extends from Main to Dedham street, and 
was named for the Havens, who were prominent in the parish 
a hundred years ago. This street forms a part of the layout which 
was made in 1687, for a road "over the Great Brook, near Natick, 
toward Pegan hill." This, as a part of one of the old roads of the 
town, was much used before the building of Springdale avenue. It 
was a fine example of one of the old-time "winding streets," before 
the attempt was made to straighten it some thirty years ago. 
The first school-house was located on Haven street. In this school 

94 



DOVER FARMS 

house were held all early public meetings, and we can easily imagine 
the farmers coming on horseback from all parts of the parish to attend 
these gatherings, clad in homespun, which their wives had dressed on 
hand machines and dyed in home-made vats. The school-houses at 
the center of the town have had various locations. The second 
school-house (built in 1763), occupied a site on the present grounds 
of the First Parish, on the north side of Springdale avenue, near the 
railroad station. When the new meeting-house was built in 1811, 
the top of the hill — with its accumulated soil — was graded off and 
scraped into the cellar of the school-house which had been moved to 
the Common. The removal of the loam has made the grounds of the 
First Parish sandy, and difficult on which to grow grass or trees. 
Later, the school-house was sold, and a new one built on the south 
side of Springdale avenue east of the Evangelical Congregational 
church. About the time of the building of the railroad, this school- 
house was moved to the Common, where in after years it had several 
locations until the present site of the Sanger school-house was settled 
in 1873. In view of the coming railroad, real estate owners asked 
such fabulous prices for their land that a site could not be agreed 
upon outside of the Common. The railroad came, but for nearly a 
century there was no increase in the value of land in the center of 
the town. If it is the object of education to train boys to be good 
fathers and girls to be good mothers, then the children of this town 
a century ago got a good education, although they had very little of 
what we should call schooling. "They were rich in self-control, in 
efficiency, and in common sense, and they had gotten their wisdom in 
the greatest of all schools — pioneer life." For a century and a half 
the farmers of this town "relied for their sons and daughters, not upon 
trained skill, but upon native ability, sterling character, independence, 
and industry." 



John Glassett's farm, was the JOSEPH CHICKERING place, 
and was set off from the original Chickering farm. It was near the 
center of population in the early time, as shown by the fact that the 

95 



DOVER FARMS 

school-house was located here. The house* is one of the oldest houses 
in town, having been built in 1748. Peat was such a common article 
of fuel that a peat room, reached from the outside, was found in this old 
house where the dry peat was stored for use in the fireplace. — Joseph 
Haven, Noah Haven. 

George E. Chickering's farm is the original Chickering homestead. 
NATHANIEL CHICKERING, the emigrant, cleared land and built 
a house here, having received a grant of land on Trout brook in 
1678-9. The traditional date given for his settlement is 1690; it is 
believed, however, that in the settlement and development of this farm 
he was working here a part of the time for several years previous. 
Estates and farms in the United States rarely remain in the hands of 
a family for more than three generations; it is interesting to note 
that this farm has been in the Chickering name and family for six 
generations. A majority of Dover farms have not been transmitted 
through three generations. The present house, built in 1767, was 
remodeled just a hundred years after its erection. Here can be seen 
the picturesque well-sweep, which was once common on all farms, and 
one may here drink from a well which for more than two centuries has 
quenched the thirst of man and beast. Here was located a cider mill, 
which made cider from apples grown on trees of which the seed had 
been brought from England by the early settlers. Orchards were 
cultivated in the early settlement of the town and much attention was 
given to growing sweet apples, as they were used as an article of food. 
Baked sweet apples with milk were eaten in the summer and fall in 
large quantities. The sweet apple found a ready sale in Boston, and 
many barrels were carried from Dover every year to the Boston 
market. The Spice sweeting, the Orange sweeting, and the Metcalf 
sweeting were favorite varieties of a century ago. It is interesting to 
note that the fine apples of to-day, of which we have great variety, 
have been developed from the original apple which "as offered by 
nature were the small, sour, bitter crab of the forest, unpleasant, indi- 

•The life in this house was minutely told In the historical address given 
on the occasion of the dedication of the Sawln Memorial Building. See 
Proceedings, page 8. 

96 



DOVER FARMS 

gestible, innutritious." Here George E. Chickering still gives the old- 
fashioned country handshake, strong and warm. Through his 
accurate memory and keen interest in historical matters many tradi- 
tions and historical facts "have been arrested in their passage to 
oblivion and preserved for future generations." — Nathaniel Chicker- 
ing, Nathaniel Chickering, Jesse Chickering, George Chickering. 

ELEAZER ELLIS' homestead is at the left, on land owned by the 
late Captain Wotton. The location of his house can still be traced, 
which was probably built as early as 1690, at which time he is 
believed to have settled here with his neighbor, Nathaniel Chickering. 
It is a tradition that Elias Haven, who was killed at the Lexington 
Alarm, April 19, 1775, was at the time, living on this farm. He was 
perhaps following his trade of a shoemaker. The proportion of 
cordwainers to the population was very large. Shoemaking became 
a winter employment at an early date in the development of the parish. 
This work could be taken up and carried on when farming was 
impossible and helped to eke out a living which at best was scanty 
of those things which can be purchased with money. — Caleb Ellis. 

Miss Lucy A. Smith's house was built in 1903 by ERNEST F. 
HODGSON. This place is of much interest as a part of an estate 
originally settled in 1690, and well illustrates the development of the 
town. 

Capt. Warren Wotton's farm was the DEACON JOSHUA ELLIS 
place. Mr. Ellis was a son of Eleazer Ellis, and inherited with his 
brother, Caleb, all of his father's estate. Joshua built a house on the 
south side of the road, in 1732, while Caleb lived on the homestead. 
Previous to the organization of the First Parish Church, Joshua Ellis 
attended and was a deacon in the Needham church. The standing 
and intelligence of Dover farmers, in an age of few advantages, is 
found in the fact that they lived within the "team haul" of a prosper- 
ous city. Their lives were influenced by the great Boston preachers, 
lawyers, doctors, merchants, and students of their time. John 
Chickerinr^, Jr., purchased a. part of this estate in 1798, and the farm 

97 



DOVER FARMS 

remained in the Chickering family for many years. At one time Mr. 
Chickering had a slaughter house here in connection with his farm. — 
Prescott Fiske. 

CHARLES H. CHICKERING built, in 1875, the house where his 
widow and son, James H. Chickering, and family now live. This 
settlement is of interest, as the founder represented in the seventh 
generation one of the original English settlers of this town. 

Mrs. Caroline Hodgson built her house in 1905, it being the fourth 
house built by her family. For a hundred and fifty years, until the 
initiative was taken by this family, there were but few new houses 
erected in the center of the town, and until very recently, one looked 
upon the same scene as that which greeted the Dover Minute men 
when they assembled on the old training field on the morning of April 
19, 1775. 

CROSS STREET extends from Center street to Dedham street 
and in this connection is one of the oldest roads in town. It 
formed a part of the road which was laid out in 1695, from Noanet's 
brook to Clay brook, and was the connecting link between Dedham 
street and Clay brook road, which was regularly traveled after the 
Indian settlement was made at South Natick in 1650. Later this street 
was known as a part of the "Boston road." In connection with these 
roads we easily associate the early life of this people. Here was exhib- 
ited the courage, fortitude, as well as the superstitious fears of the early 
settlers. There is always a certain amount of superstition in the 
world, and there always will be; it finds expression in fortune tellers, 
clairvoyants, and palmists, who in cities carry on their industry in 
shabby rooms up side streets. In the marine service there are lucky 
and unlucky captains. If a captain loses his ship, he cannot have 
another. Marine underwriters will not deal with the unlucky. That 
was Napoleon's rule. It has been the rule of the house of Rothschild 
for a century. How few people are wholly free from the feeling of 
which it speaks. And so it has been thought worth while to bring 

98 



DOVER FARMS 

together a collection of the superstitions that have come down to us 
in the town of Dover: 

If, when starting on a journey, one meets a woman first, he will 
have bad luck. 

If a person sleeps with his head toward the east he will have ill 
health. 

Returning to the house after starting on a journey will bring bad 
luck. 

If one cuts his finger nails on Sunday, he will do something to be 
ashamed of during the week. 

If the sunset is clear on Friday night, it will storm before Monday 
night. As Friday was, so the following Tuesday will be. 

If it rains the first Sunday in the month, it will rain every Sunday 
in the month. 

Onion skin very thin. 
Mild winter's coming in: 
Onion skin thick and tough 
Coming winter cold and rough. 

If one sees the new moon through glass, he will have a fall before 
the month is out. 

If, when driving, a squirrel crosses to the right, it is a sign of good 
luck; if to the left, of bad luck. 

To insure good luck the right foot should be dressed first. 

If a light is brought to the table after a meal has been begun, it will 
bring sickness. 

If one breaks an article on Sunday, he will break something else 
during the week. 

It is a bad sign to have a tree blossom in the fall. 

If in the spring one kills the first snake he sees, his enemies will 
become friends and he will not break a bone during the year. 

To break a mirror is a sign of death in the family. 

It is a bad sign to have a hen crow. 

To see a shooting star is a sign of accident. 

To commence a work on Friday invites delay and accident. 

99 



DOVER FARMS 

The giving of an edged tool to a friend will be followed by a breach 
in friendship. 

When muskrats build their houses high, there will be high water. 

When the corn is thickly covered with husks, and when there is an 
abundance of nuts, there will be a hard winter. 

The weather on Christmas day and the eleven days following 
governs the next year. 

Dropping a dish-cloth will bring company. 

If afflicted with cramp in the legs turn your shoes bottom up 
on retiring. 

If a farmer's son kills toads, his cows will give bloody milk. 

It was believed that the touching of a toad would cause warts, and 
that when such a wart appeared, if it was pricked and the blood 
allowed to drop on a penny and the penny then thrown away, who- 
ever picked it up would "get the wart"; that is, a wart would appear 
on the hand of the finder, and at the same time the original wart 
would disappear from the hand of the first sufferer. 

MRS. SUSAN HART bought in 1848, seven and a half acres of 
land on Cross street, and built the house thereon which is now owned by 
Joseph Wheeler. This was the home of William G. Hart, a soldier 
in the Civil war, a cause in which all were interested. We recall how 
the little girls made comfort bags which held needles, thread, and 
other little needful articles for the homeless soldiers in the field. 
When Mrs. Hart settled here, women, by their indoor occupations or 
things they created there, added an important element to the sup- 
port of the family, but now all this has changed and the woman who 
wants to earn money has to go out after a job. 

^ ♦ ^ 

SPRINGDALE AVENUE extends from Farm street to Walpole 
street. This avenue was built in 1762, by Hezekiah Allen 
"from the burying place past the meeting-house to the house of John 
Cheney." (Skimmings place on Main street.) It winds over the 
meadows, crosses two brooks, and gradually ascends to the summit of 
Meeting-house hill. The drive across the meadows is very beautiful, 
and the surrounding country, when viewed from the top of the hill, is 

100 



DOVER FARMS 

said to strongly resemble some views around the Mediterranean sea. On 
this avenue are located the churches, the town hall, the post office, the 
school-houses and the grocery store. Springdale avenue also connects 
the two parks of the town. When the meeting-house was built in 
1750, there was then, as now, no center of population, the settlements 
being scattered over the entire territory. The meeting-house was, 
therefore, placed without regard to existing roads, on the hill, in the 
geographical center of the town, measured from its extremes. Before 
the building of Springdale avenue, the nearest road led from the house 
of Benjamin Ellis (Coughlan farm on Walpole street), to the burying 
place. From this road, and from Haven street, the people drove 
across lots to the meeting-house*. There is hardly a road in Dover 
without its hill, on which a half century ago the boys and girls coasted 
in the winter season, enjoying a universal sport which for excitement 
and exhilaration is unsurpassed. Modern easy methods of trans- 
portation and communication, says a recent writer, have put the typical 
New England village, with its manly, self-reliant, self-centered life, 
out of existence, and with it has passed, or become decadent, many of 
its community sports. In addition to single sleds owned by every 
boy in the neighborhood were the double runners, which were made 
by fastening, with a long board or plank, two clipper sleds together, 
so that the rear one ran in the track of the first one. On such a sled 
a dozen could be seated. The steering was done by a stout wooden 
crossbar. The memory of the joyous shouts as the coasters glided 
down these Dover hills is pleasant to recall, now that the presence 
of innumerable automobiles has made coasting on our roads but a 
memory, a sport that cannot be participated in by our children, 
although enjoyed by many generations of their forebears. The 
beautiful young trees surrounding the Common were set out in con- 
nection with the observance of Arbor day by the pupils of the Sanger 
school. This work was commenced in 1889, soon after the establish- 
ment of the day, and was made possible by gifts of money from Benja- 
min P. Cheney, who was a great lover of trees. Certain trees were 



•The exact distance from the First Parish Meeting-house to tiie old State 
House in Boston, as given by J. G. Hales in his survey made in 1820, Is 13 
miles 6 furlongs and 10 rods. 

101 



DOVER FARMS 

planted with appropriate exercises and named for Revolutionary 
officers of the town. The elm tree on the Common in the rear of the 
town hall was planted in memory of Col. Daniel Whiting. A maple 
tree in front of the Sanger school-house was called the Lieut. Ebenezer 
Newell tree, while another tree was named for Capt. Ebenezer Battle, 
who led the Springfield Parish Company of Minute men at the Lex- 
ington Alarm. 

EDWIN F. BACON built the house occupied by William U. 
Locke, in 1878, on land purchased of Rev. Allen E. Battelle. Here 
Thomas P. Burke set up the "Dover Shoeing Forge," which has well 
met the needs of the town. 

William Whiting's farm (Lawrence Minot estate) originally 
belonged to JOHN DRAPER, JR., who settled here at the time of his 
marriage in 1724. This was a part of his father's estate, half of 
which he inherited in 1749. Slavery is looked upon as a southern 
institution, but slaves worked on Dover farms long before they were 
owned in Georgia. John Draper had an interest in a slave which 
he inherited from his father's estate with other "moveables." In this 
parish the "hired men," for the first century and a half after the settle- 
ment of the town, were generally native born, they earned good wages 
for the times, and were good citizens. "They were far-famed for 
skill in cradling, mowing, and pitching, and could drive oxen and 
handle an axe." Not a few "hired men" in the parish took part in 
the Revolution and became "builders of the nation." By reason of 
thrift and good habits many became land-owners, and in time had 
farms of their own. Some married in town and took their wives to 
distant places, Westminster, Lunenberg, Warwick, Massachusetts, 
and Ashford, Connecticut, all of which towns received residents from 
Dover. The following, whose names often appear in the parish 
records, and are not otherwise mentioned in her history, were prob- 
ably farm hands: Jabez Wood, Elias Stimpson, Silas Taft, Nathan 
Cook, Thomas Farett, Thomas Gardner, Oliver Kendrick, William 
Mansfield, Thomas Morse, Abraham Chamberlain, Paudant Good- 
new, Josiah Briggs and Robert Murdock. Nowhere in the world, 

102 



DOVER FARMS 

avowed the correspondent of the London Times in 1863, was the labor- 
ing man so prosperous as in the United States before the Civil war. 
American labor at that time was scarce, precarious, independent, and 
fastidious; whoever condescended to work was sure not only of his 
daily bread but also of a certain amount of decent comfort; the very 
hedger and ditcher had it in his power to raise himself. He knew 
how to strike the best bargain, how to stand on his rights and inter- 
ests, and how to put by a penny for a rainy day. "If ever there was 
a country in which labor was in clover, in which it was looked up to 
petted and honored, it certainly was this North American community. 
— Aaron Draper, Daniel Draper, Aaron Whiting, Otis Gould. 

Col. George A. Meacham's farm was a part of the Jonathan Whiting 
place and was owned by his grandson, RUFUS WHITING, who 
built the house in 1838. This farm remained in the Whiting family 
until sold by Ithamar Whiting in 1874. The members of this family, 
like other early residents, were versatile and could do many kinds of 
work. They were like the Essex County farmer, described by a local 
historian, from whom many Dover families are descended. He was 
a weaver by trade, but he could butcher a swine or write a will or 
deed; he could practice in probate or dig a grave; he could make a 
coffin or build a house; he could cultivate a farm or survey it; he 
could shoe a horse or an ox, or make his own or other's shoes; he was 
a ready helper in every department of country life. For many years 
farmers made quantities of charcoal in the fall or early winter which 
found a ready sale in Boston. 

Matthew McNamara's farm was the original JONATHAN 
WHITING place, and was settled previous to 1732. While owned by 
Walter C. Upham, the house was burned (1864). Mr. and Mrs. Up- 
ham were absent at the time, and his mother, who was an aged woman, 
was burned to death. It was on this farm that Aaron Whiting was 
ploughing when the Lexington Alarm was given on the morning of 
April 19, 1775. He actually left his ox team in the field to be cared 
for and turned to pasture by his bride of only a few days. Wives 
and children were left on the farms to get a very poor living, while 

103 



DOVER FARMS 

) 
the husbands and fadiers served in the Continental Army. Money 
had to be borrowed to live on. Oxen which were not needed during 
the owner's absence were often killed for beef. Aaron Whiting 
lived to an advanced age and was long recalled as a Revolutionary 
pensioner. The generation which immediately preceded us remem- 
bred the soldiers of the Revolution. General Butler in his Auto- 
biography tells of Revolutionary soldiers who found the kitchen 
fireside of his grandmother a pleasant resort, where they told stories 
of the Indian wars; of garrison houses and of women running from 
the fields of corn, pursued by savages, and sometimes overtaken, and 
sometimes saved by the faithful musket of the husband or father. 
Then they came down to later times — the opening of the Revolutionary 
war, the massacre at Lexington, and the battle of Bunker Hill; and 
so talked on until I had as deep-seated a prejudice against a redcoat 
as our turkey gobbler exhibited to a red petticoat, when he drove my 
sister into the house. Matthew McNamara bought the farm in 1867 
and built the present house. — Jonathan Whiting, Aaron Whiting, 
Jonathan Upham. 



The Dunn farm, purchased before 1860 by Theodore Dunn of 
Roxbury, was at one time a part of the Eleazer Ellis estate. Here 
WILLIAM WHITING settled in 1754, and carried on the business 
of a tanner, which was a most laborious occupation at that time. He 
purchased the tanner}^ of his father in 1755 and continued in the 
business for nearly half a century. In those days it often took five 
or six years to tan hides, but they were so thoroughly tanned that the 
leather had extraordinary wearing qualities. To-day leather is chem- 
ically tanned in a few minutes. The bark was probably ground by 
hand, although it may have been ground by horse power; at best it 
was a most tedious process. With the machinery used as late as 
1784 two horses could grind only a cord of bark in a day of 12 hours. 
The lime vats and water pools probably emptied their contents directly 
into the brook; but there is no certainty even of this, as the methods 
used were so laborious and crude at this time. The nail shop, where 
wrought iron nails were made by hand, was located between the 

104 



DOVER FARMS 

present Dunn house and the brook. — Enoch Whiling, Luther East- 
man, Rev. John Haskell. 

ANSEL K. TISDALE'S house, which was built in 1881, stands 
on the site of a little house built by Rebecca and Mercy Ellis in 
1788. The Ellis family had large and early grants of land at the 
centre of the parish. All the land on the north side of Springdale 
avenue, extending from Spring brook* to Centre street, was originally 
the farm of Dea. Joshua Ellis, which was sold by his heirs to William 
Whiting in 1788, at which time the little house above referred to was 
built. 

Miss Amelia B. Alary's homestead was originally the BARNABAS 
PAINE place, and was settled by Mr. Paine in 1865. The land was 
a part of William Whiting's estate, whose barn and tan house, a 
century and a half ago, stood on the south side of the road near 
Spring brook. 

The house built by Mr. Paine was burned a few years since and 
replaced by a new house on the same site; about this time Mr. Paine's 
carpenter shop was altered into the attractive residence of Dr. A. B. 
Emmons, 2nd. 

Francis V. Bulfinch's homestead was the residence of the late 
Ithamar Whiting. This house was built by ANSEL K. TISDALE 
in 1872, on land which was a part of the Dunn estate. Mr. Whiting 
was reared on a nearby farm, where native cranberries were found 
growing in the low lands. In the settlement of the town, cranberries 
grew in abundance, especially in the west part of Dover. The gather- 
ing of this crop in the fall was quite an industry. Fanners often 
collected, in favorable years, fifty barrels of this wild fruit. From 
cranberries just like those grown in those wild bogs there has been 
developed that variety of berries which has made the product of Cape 
Cod known all over the world. 

J. W. Higgins had a house which was built in 1887, as an addition 

•Often called Dunn's brook. 

1C5 



DOVER FARMS 

to the store erected by LEWIS B. PAINE in 1879. These buildings 
were located between the present store and the railroad, and were 
struck by lightning and wholly destroyed by fire August 25, 1901. It 
is an interesting fact that there has been a store in this immediate 
vicinity for more than a century, the first one being located on the 
estate of the late Mrs. Betsey S. Howe on Dedham street, and was 
run in connection with the tavern for many years. Mr. Higgins' 
store was built in the spring of 1902, and the store of Edmund K. 
Dandrow in 1911. 

LEONARD DRAPER'S house was built by himself in 1890, on 
land purchased of the heirs of Linus Bliss. Mr. Bliss shortly before 
his death made a considerable purchase of land here for the purpose 
of moving his cigar factory to the centre of the town, where he 
intended to establish a large plant. — John H. Faulk. 

HESTNUT STREET extends from Dedham street to the centre 



c 



of Day's bridge. It is of interest as leading directly to Charles 
river, which has played so important a part in the history of Massachu- 
setts. Watertown,at the head of navigation on Charles river, was settled 
immediately after the founding of Boston. A little later a company 
from Watertown settled farther up on Charles river and founded the 
town of Dedham. This street and bridge were built to accommodate 
the travel eastward, and formed a part of the "Boston road." Start- 
ing at Day's bridge the town built in 1905, in connection with the 
Commonwealth, its first mile of state road. Under the system which 
prevailed for many years of allowing the highway tax to be worked 
out at the price fixed for labor, or the use of teams, at the annual 
town meeting, under the direction of the district surveyor, the residents 
never knew what a good road was. They were "deep in mud in the 
spring, deep in dust in the summer, and deep in snow in the winter." 
In the autumn only were they comfortable to travel on. The improve- 
ment in roads, of which the town is justly proud, dates from the 
abolition of the surveyor of highways in 1888 and the appointment 
of a superintendent of streets. Another mile of road was added in 
1908, which brings the state road nearly to the center of the town. 

106 



DOVER FARMS 

CHURCH STREET was built to connect Springdale avenue and 
Haven street, and overcomes a right of way across the neighbor- 
ing lot known as the "Chickering path," still discernible, and made 
so by nearly two centuries of foot travel in going to school, church 
and other public places. This street furnishes a lovely stroll in 
spring or summer, with the pine grove on the one side, and the 
forest and deep shady dell on the other. The succession of wild 
flowers along this road, and in the immediate vicinity, is numerous 
and beautiful. Any one with an observing eye, and a love of nature, 
will find here a pleasant walk, and a beautiful bit of landscape. 

MRS. HELEN M. JONES built the house on this street in 1886, 
on land which was a part of her mother's estate. Mrs. Jones some 
years later moved from town, and this family which has been for so 
many years, and in so many ways, prominently identified with Dover 
is now solely represented by Miss Sarah E. Dunn of Springdale 
avenue. 

4" ^ 4* 

WALPOLE STREET extends from Centre street to County 
street, and in its development was gradually extended from 
farm to farm to enable the settlers in the south part of the town to 
reach the meeting-house. On this street was heard April 19th, 1775, 
the hurried feet of the Walpole Minute Men, as they marched 
through Dover, on the Lexington Alarm. 

Eben Higgins' farm was originally that half of ELIPHALET 
CHICKERING'S estate, on which several of his buildings stood 
including his blacksmith's shop. The date of his settlement cannot 
be definitely determined, but it is believed that he settled here about 
1730. At one time this farm was owned by Capt. Samuel Fisher, the 
most prominent, the most influential, and the richest man in town, 
one who was given to hospitality and good works. His son, Nathan 
Fisher, who lived here, was a prominent trader of the town. Although 
hospitable, the women were so busy with their home affairs that they 
had little time for visiting or for "days at home." Once in a while 
every housewife "had company," wlien a neighbor or the school 

107 



DOVER FARMS 

teacher was invited in. If in winter, a fire was kindled in the air- 
tight stove in the "front room," and in sewing or in knitting the 
afternoon was spent. At supper the table was laid with the best 
china, probably a wedding gift. Milk toast, and "flapjacks," piled 
high and buttered and sugared and flavored with grated nutmeg, were 
served, with quince preserve, mince pie, which had probably been 
kept since Thanksgiving, and fruit cake, all of which was passed in 
turn around the board. On such occasions "green tea'' was served, 
and greatly appreciated by the guests. The china sugar bowl was 
filled with white loaf sugar, to be carefully put away after the meal 
and not to be taken down until company again appeared. In the 
evening the men folks came in, and while discussing affairs ate the 
choicest apples and drank the best cider which the home afforded. 
At 9 o'clock the company separated, to be in turn invited to the home 
of a visitor. Little visiting was done outside of district lines. The 
meeting-house was, in truth, the only place where all the people met. 
One of the beautiful elm trees on this farm was planted by Mr. 
Fisher's daughter, Abigail, on the day of her marriage in 1807 to 
Timothy Allen. — Ebenezer Newell, Jr., Timothy Allen 2d, John F. 
Ford, John McNamara. 

JONATHAN WHITING purchased the land and built the 
house on the place now owned by the Higgins Brothers in 1888. This 
was the pasture field of the Rev. Dr. Sanger, where he kept his cows, 
which helped to eke out a living for his family, on his annual salary 
of five hundred dollars, out of which he sent two sons to Harvard and 
two daughters away to school. 

/ 
PATRICK McNAMARA bought his farm of 30 acres of his 

father, John McNamara, in 1879, and erected the buildings thereon. 

This land was formerly a part of Eben Higgins' farm. Here is 

located the large rock on which the town powder-house was built in 

1800. 

Walter E. Poole's place originally belonged to the Ebenezer Newell 
farm. After selling his farm on Strawberry hill, MOSES RICH- 

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DOVER FARMS 

ARDS built here previous to the year 1800. He sold this little place 
to Moses Sawin in 1807, having previously moved to Warwick, Mass. 
Mr. Sawin was a miller by trade and later settled in Natick. This 
little place, in the years that have passed, has had many owners, the 
number exceeding perhaps that of any other place in town. — Martha 
Stratton, T. Cooley Norton. 

Thomas Coughlan's farm was the BENJAMIN ELLIS homestead, 
which was settled in 1728. It is one of the best, as well as one of the 
oldest farms in town. It was purchased by Dea. James Cheney of 
Newton, in 1757, and was for many years in the Cheney family. 
Before the discovery and use of ether as an anaesthetic, in 1846, 
residents of this town submitted to major surgical operations in per- 
fect consciousness. Individuals are recalled who submitted to such 
operations, whose agonizing cries were heard a mile away. The Rev. 
Martin Cheney, in an autobiography, gives a minute account of a 
surgical operation upon himself, performed by Dr. Miller of Frank- 
lin in 1812, in which he well describes the practice and the agony of 
such an operation. — John Cheney, James Cheney, Amos Allen. 

The First Parish wood lot* is located on the west side of Walpole 
street, a little way south of the Coughlan farm. In the early settle- 
ment of the town the minister was expected to plow, harrow, culti- 
vate, mow, and harvest, like the rest of the community. Many 
parishes owned a farm, the use of which was allowed the minister rent 
free as a part of his salary. When the Springfield Parish took steps to 
organize a church, several residents gave land on Walpole street, 
amounting in all to twenty-eight acres, for the minister's farm. 

Instead of settling on the Parish land, Mr. Caryl purchased the fartn 
on Dedham street, which remained for more than a century in his 
family. The land given for the minister's farm still remains in the 
hands of the parish. On this lot the early ministers cut their family 
supply of wood, which helped to eke out their meager salary. During 
the last half century the sales from the parish wood lot have been a 
source of income, which has helped to paint and repair the meeting- 
house, as well as to meet the running expenses of the parish. 

•Sold in 1913. 

109 



DOVER FARMS 

JOHN BREAGY'S house and blacksmith shop were built by him- 
self on land purchased of Josiah Whiting. The house was erected in 
1892, while the shop was built five years earlier. Blacksmith's shops 
are always of interest, as horses and oxen had to be shod, plows 
mended, and farm implements and domestic utensils made from the 
start. Such shops were early established on Dover farms. 

JOHN BURNS' place is of his own settlement, and stands at the 
head of a street, discontinued some years ago, which led to Powisset 
and the sawmill of Capt. Samuel Fisher. It is to be hoped that this 
picturesque and old-time road will again be opened to travel, as 
recently recommended (1909) by a committee of the town. 

Louis Gergler's farm was a part of the Simeon Mann estate. 
WILLIAM WHITING purchased thirty acres from Mr. Mann in 
1854, and built the house thereon in 1856. Mr. Gergler is believed 
to have been the first German to settle in Dover. He reared here a 
large family, all of whom, however, took up their residence in other 
towns. 

George E. Taylor's farm was the JOSIAH REED place, first 
settled in 1758. Mr. Reed sold this farm to James Mann in 1786, 
and it became the original homestead of the Manns in Dover. The 
old custom of barter is well illustrated in Mr. Mann's purchase of 
six acres of land in 1784 of Daniel Chickering. The deed is given 
in consideration of forty-one bushels of Indian corn. Sometimes an 
addition was made to a homestead when a son married, again a new 
house was built on the farm, in which case the old house was aban- 
doned in the course of time. James Mann in giving a deed of a part 
of his farm to his son Simeon says: "with one half of the new part of 
the dwelling house which he now occupies with the same privilege in 
the other part of the house which he now has.'' — Ellis Mann. 

The Ziolkowski farm is one of the original Chickering settlements. 
Here NATHANIEL CHICKERING settled in 1781. A black- 
smith's shop was located on this farm. The first house built here is 

110 



DOVER FARMS 

still standing and forms one of the outbuildings. The architecture 
of the old house is a little different from other types found in the 
town. The second story projects somewhat over the first one, a modi- 
fication of the block house of colonial Indian warfare. It is a 
pleasant task to go over the settlement of the town and gather what 
one can of the early customs and domestic life of the people. Nothing 
brings the old times back more vividly than the old houses that have 
been preserved to us. — Daniel Chickering, James Chickering. 

George D. Hall's place, the "Lone tree farm," is in its original settle- 
ment, the JOSIAH ELLIS place. It is an interesting farm, having 
been settled in 1728 by a native of the parish. Through its owners 
the traditions of many generations of the town's people have soaked 
into the soil. Here Deacon Ralph Battelle, who represented one of 
the early settlers of the town, lived and reared his family — also Simon 
Cheney, one of the fathers of the town. We remember the bam 
swallows that in large numbers used to build their nests on the rafters 
and under the eaves of the old barns. Before the settlement of the 
town we presume this species used to build in the sand banks but 
through the years this habit has been abandoned by these birds. The 
writer can recall wild pigeons in scattered numbers that used to fly 
over the town twice a year. Among the early settlers they were caught 
by the dozen in nets extended on the ground. A tame wild pigeon, 
made blind, and fastened to a long string was used by those who 
caught pigeons in a large way. The short flight and repeated calls ot 
the tame pigeon never failed to bring them down. In the season 
savory pigeon pies were often found on the farmers' table. 

Dover is now caring for her birds and has the distinction of being 
the first town in the United States to appoint, with a salary, a bird 
warden. With the erection of bird houses the number of useful birds 
can be greatly multiplied to the advantage of the town and the 
destruction of the gypsy and brown-tail moth. — Samuel Cheney. 

Before crossing Tubwreck brook, at the right, can be seen, a short 
distance from the road, an old cellar hole. A century ago this lot 
was known as the "cellar piece." If a family ever lived here all 

111 



DOVER FARMS 

trace of it is lost in oblivion. No history or tradition can be con- 
nected with the spot. It was probably located on the leading way 
across from Strawberry hill. 

J. V. Schaffner's fami was the original home of the Tisdale family. 
Three brothers, Henry, James and Billings Tisdale, came here previ- 
ous to the Revolution from Lebanon, Conn. They all settled in the 
immediate vicinity. HENRY TISDALE settled the farm on Walpole 
street in 1774. Billings Tisdale located on County street, while James 
Tisdale purchased the farm (Alfred Tisdale's place), just across the 
line in Walpole. Henry Tisdale married a grand-daughter of Samuel 
Chickering, and this farm was a part of her grand- father's estate. 
Henry Tisdale was by trade a hatter, of which most towns could boast 
one man, who made those enormous beaver hats that looked almost 
like fur and were worn by men a long time ago.. These hats were 
thoroughly well-made and wore a long time. Mr. Tisdale* was work- 
ing on a beaver hat on the morning of April 19, 1775, when the 
alarm was given. He immediately threw his hat in one direction and 
his brush in another, and hastened to Dover center where he joined 
the company of Minute Men. The old toll house, where the toll keeper 
lived and opened the gate on the payment of the toll, on the Hartford 
turnpike, now forms one of the outbuildings on this farm. The rate 
of toll was a penny for each person on foot, two pence for a horse and 
chaise; three pence for a two-horse team, and four pence for a four- 
horse team. The stage coach was run with six horses, and is believed 
to have paid in proportion. Capt. James Tisdale was a prominent 
man of the town, a ready wit, a great writer of doggerel verse and 
one who entered most heartily into the jovial life of the neighborhood. 
He was a renowned auctioneer. His aptitude for public sale was 
inherited by his descendants and for several generations they have 
been popular auctioneers. This was the home of Fisher Tisdale a 
man of remarkable memory and deep piety. 

An orchestra met for many years at the house of William Tisdale, 
which was not only a source of pleasure to the members, but also to a 

*The late Ansel K. Tisdale believed this incident to relate to James Tis- 
dale. v>lio is known to have been a hatter, rather than Henry Tisdale. 

112 



DOVER FARMS 

large number of visitors. While all the members of this orchestra 
have joined the great majority, these pleasant occasions still linger in 
the memory of some who were then but boys and girls. The orchestra 
consisted of Samuel F. Allen, first violin, leader and prompter; Henry 
L. Pettee, first violin and harp; Rufus A. Draper, second violin and 
cornet; Wm. Tisdale, flute; Mrs. Wm. Tisdale, piano; Timothy 
Allen, base horn; Fisher A. Allen, tambourine, triangle, and bells. 
This orchestra played most of the popular music of the day with 
much skill, and often met at the homes of members. Sunday even- 
ing meetings for sacred music were common; it was such a meeting 
called for Sunday evening, January 20, 1839, that caused the loss by 
lire of the beautiful meeting-house of the First Parish. Superior pen- 
manship was regarded as a valuable accomplishment; many farmers 
wrote a beautiful hand, as account books and school exercise l)Ooks 
still attest. Writing schools were much resorted to, and several writing 
masters are recalled who had writing-schools in Dover. Young 
men even went out of town to avail themselves of the privileges of 
attending such schools, which were usually held in the evening. Wil- 
liam Tisdale is recalled as one of those whose manuscript exercise 
books show him to have been a good and careful penman. It is to 
be hoped that some of these manuscript books which used to be so 
common in Dover homes a half century ago will find a place in the 

rooms of the local Historical Society 

^ 4. 4. 

HARTFORD STREET forms a part of the original Dedham and 
Hartford turnpike and extends from Westwood on the east to 
the Medfield line. The improvement in highways which has become 
so widespread, dates from the building of turnpikes about the year 
1800. In construction, these roads were better, wider, and straighter 
than the old highways and better able to sustain the burden of com- 
merce at all seasons of the year. During the first decade of the 19th 
century, 180 turnpike corporations were chartered in New England. 
The location on this road of the toll-house is a historical fact of inter- 
est. The Dedham and Boston turnpike was chartered March 9, 1804. 
and was built in 1806. The shares were sold at fifty dollars each. 
Over this road a line of stage coaches, drawn by six horses, was run 

113 



DOVER FARMS 

between Boston and Hartford where connections were made for New 
York. Rattlesnakes were once numerous in the rocky woods west of 
Hartford street. In fact they were very plentiful at one time in the 
whole vicinity. The home of Samuel Chickering, the earliest white 
settler at Powisset, is somewhere spoken of as near "Rattlesnake rock." 
The early inhabitants used rattlesnake oil as a cure for rheumatism 
and sprains. The oil is very penetrating and snakes were hunted for 
the oil which they yielded. In the winter they sleep under the rocks 
in the hills. With the warm spring days they crawl out, and after a 
short time seek the grass and bushes. When the weather becomes dry 
and warm they leave the hills and seek the cool and shady swamps, 
where they are easily found and often killed by farmers in haying 
time. A snake has one rattler during his third year, and one rattle 
each succeeding year, so a snake with eight rattles is said to be ten 
years old. The rattlesnake is very slow in his movements. He can 
throw himself a distance not exceeding his length, which seldom 
exceeds four feet, the average length being about two and a half feet. 

CHARLES DAMRELL is growing cucumbers under glass for the 
Boston market, at just the dividing line, with his house in Westwood 
and his green houses* in Dover. His farming is quite in contrast 
with the practice of a century ago, when potatoes were rarely raised 
and corn was actually grown on these Dover farms for the markets. 
Farmers raised but little hay, as cows were not expected to give milk 
during the winter months, but were turned out to browse in the woods. 
The winter feeding of animals is no longer the task of a century ago. 
The ensilage of forage makes it possible to furnish succulent food to 
animals at all seasons of the year. The introduction of ensilage 
marks the dawn of a great change in the feeding of stock. Two 
Dover farmers made valuable contributions to this development. 
Henry R. Stevens in the publication in 1881 of his book entitled, "On 
Ensilage of Green Forage Crops in Silos," which did pioneer work, 
and Samuel R. Colcord in the invention of the silo governor, the use of 
which perfectly controls heat and fermentation. This invention, with 

•Burned In 1911. 

114 



DOVER FARMS 

Mr. Colcord's treatise on the subject, was a valuable contribution to 
the advancement of agriculture. 

Louis H. Kelley's farm was the MARTIN GUY place which was 
settled in 1842. Mr. Guy was a lineal descendant of Timothy Guy, 
one of those who assisted in throwing the tea overboard in Boston 
Harbor on the night of Dec. 16, 1773. 

William Neal's farm was first occupied by BENJAMIN GUY. 
Mr. Guy moved here after the sale of his farm in the west part of 
Dover in 1811. Mr. Guy is especially remembered as being unusually 
strong and powerful. He could put his shoulder under the beam of 
the barn and make the joints creak. He was a school master who had 
no trouble with unruly boys. Timothy Guy inherited the fann and 
had a little shoe shop in connection where he took the prepared 
stock, and, with the aid of his large family of boys, turned out the 
completed boot or shoe. Mr. Guy, when a young man, learned the 
trade of the shoe-maker and harness-maker at Newport, New Hamp- 
shire, and at one time had a shoe-shop in Medfield. When a boy and 
before the discovery of anaesthetics, Mr. Guy suffered the amputation 
of a leg. The horror of such a surgical operation cannot be imagined 
to-day. In the years that have passed many owners of these old farms 
submitted to surgical operations, accounts of which are still recalled 
that are most agonizing. Turning on to the Hartford turnpike from 
High street in Westwood, the first collection of tolls was made here, 
the gate being swung from a corner of the house. 

MISS SARAH ANN GUY built a small house, the cellar of which 
can still be seen west of her father's house. She later married, and 
about 1865 this house was moved to Medfield, and now forms a part 
of a house on Cottage street. 

Note.— Before the building of the Hartford turnpike, there was an old 
road called the Wisset road, which started near the house of Benjamin Guy 
and came out on High street in Westwood, near the Boyd farm. This road 
was called for the Wisset Indians — probably a contraction of Powisset — 
who once lived here. This may have been the "Old Plain Road," often 
spoken of in ancient transfers of real estate. 

115 



DOVER FARMS 

SAMUEL HERRING'S place, which was settled previous to 1763, 
was nearly opposite the Guy farm. Mr. Herring sold his farm to his 
son, Thomas, in 1789. The buildings have long since disappeared, 
and in 1843 the old cellar was filled in. The well still remains 
covered with a large stone. In every well regulated family a century 
ago there were six boards always kept in stock, to be used by the 
village carpenter in making a coffin when there was a death in the 
family. To be without these boards subjected one to the charge of 
being thriftless and destitute of ordinary forethought. Mrs. Stowe's 
"Old Town Folks," which is descriptiA^e of life in Dover as well as 
South Natick, says: "It was a doctrine of these good old times, no less 
than of many in our present day, that a house invaded by death 
should be made as forlorrv as hands could make it. It should be 
rendered as cold and stiff, as unnatural, as dead and corpse-like, as 
possible, by closed shutters, looking glasses pinned up in white sheets, 
and the locking up and out of sight of any little familiar object 
which would be thought out of place in a sepulchre." 

ELIJAH HASTINGS occupied the toll-house built in 1813 at the 
corner of Walpole and Hartford streets, opposite the residence of the 
late William Tisdale. Mr. Hastings moved with his family to New 
York state at a time when the larger streams had to be forded as no 
bridges had been built. Oscar Hastings, born in Dover in 1823, was 
for many years a prominent resident of Oswego, New York. 

William Conrick's farm was the WALTER STOWE place. Mr. 
Stowe was a trunk maker and settled here at the time of his marriage 
in 1813, having cleared the farm himself. Mr. Stowe was a relative 
of Prof. Calvin E. Stowe, who sometimes visited here, accompanied 
by his distinguished wife, Harriet Beecher Stowe. Farmers a century 
ago were great whittlers, and made toy windmills and water wheels 
and various things. With jack knives they could do more than the 
farmer of to-day can do with a kit of tools. — Albert Stowe 

WALTER WHITING'S little house, on the left, was built by him- 
self. This property was bequeathed to the town on much the same 

116 



DOVER FARMS 

terms as the Larrabee fund, but in the settlement of the estate, there 
was but little money with which to establish a fund. Although Mr. 
Whiting owned but a small place, yet he was reared on one of the large 
farms of the town, where in his boyhood days the farming was gen- 
eral and included the raising for the market of beef, veal, mutton, 
pork, poultry, butter, milk, cheese, eggs, beans, pease, potatoes, cab- 
bages, squash, cucumbers, citron, tomatoes, hay, corn, rye, barley, oats, 
pears, peaches, quinces, apples, plums, cherries, grapes, cranberries, 
popcorn, and rye straw. 

^ ^ ^ 

POWISSET STREET extends from Walpole street, and bears an 
Indian name. In transfers of real estate this street sometimes 
bore the name of "King Road" and "High Rock" road. The plain of 
Powisset is spoken of as early as 1662 in Dedham records. Here the 
early settlers turned their growing stock. A shelter was provided and 
the herdsman cared for the stock during the summer months. The 
plain of Powisset is of great historical interest as the home of the 
Powisset Indians, and is closely associated with Indian life in this 
town. Beautiful springs abound in the vicinity and the picturesque- 
ness of the surrounding country adds a charm to this ancient home- 
stead. Reserve pond, which was a part of the plant of the New Mill 
Company, antedates by a century what is being done to-day by the 
largest corporations in New England, the storing of freshet water to 
be drawn upon whenever needed in the running of mills. 

SAMUEL CHICKERING,* a son of the immigrant, Nathaniel 
Chickering, of Haven street, settled here in 1720. When the bounds of 
the precinct were established in 1729, they were made to include "the 
lands of Samuel Chickerinsr." Here Samuel Fisher settled after his 



*The occupation of the shoemaker goes back to the early development of 
the town. Among those who followed this trade in connection with their 
farms, or in little shops, were Samuel Chickering, Deacon Joseph Haven, 
Elias Haven, Ebenezer Smith, John Jepson, Ebenezer Battelle, Jeremiah 
Paeon, Hezekiah Battle, Rufus Smith, Z. Moore, Joseph Knowlton, Reuben 
Griggs, H. Moore and William Faulk. These shoemakers took the measure 
and made the boot or shoe on their own bench from their own leather or 
from that furnished by their patron. Tliey wore complete masters of every 
branch of the trade, and so gained a valuable discipline from their work. 

117 



DOVER FARMS 

marriage in 1751 with Mary, daughter of Samuel Chickering. Mrs. 
Fisher had several tracts of land from her father's estate. At the time 
of Mr. Fisher's death in 1758, the value of his real estate was not 
estimated, as the appraiser stated that "ye land does not lie in this 
provence.'' It is a tradition that Mr. Fisher came to Dover from New 
Hampshire, although he was born in Needham. This farm was 
inherited by Mr. Chickering's grandson, Capt. Samuel Fisher. He 
lived here until 1793, when he moved to Dover Center. — George 
Fisher. 

Bernard Post's house was built after the "great blow" in Septem- 
ber, 1815, by SAMUEL FISHER, of timljer uprooted in his exten- 
sive woodlands. This great wind storm is recorded as a hurricane, 
unlike anything which had previously happened since 1665. The 
town has had at various times not only violent storms but earthquakes, 
droughts and epidemics, which proclaimed the Day of Judgment to 
some God-fearing inhabitants; happily, such events are no longer 
looked upon as direct visitations of the Almighty. While the farms 
for the most part have been small, the original Powisset estate has 
been an exception. It consists of two parts, the easterly and westerly 
sections, and contained in the aggregate, in 1821, four hundred and 
ninety-eight acres, making it the largest farm in the history of the 
town. This farm has lately been purchased by Horatio Hathaway, 
Jr.— Timothy Allen, Samuel F. Allen. 

GEORGE POST'S house stands on the original Powisset farm, 
and was built in 1896. This section of Dover is of great interest, 
being as is well-known the home of the Powisset Indians when the 
town was lirst settled. The fields where they planted corn were trace- 
able less than a century ago. The Indians of the vicinity roamed 
over the town for many years, selling baskets, brooms and repairing 
chairs; they usually stopped where night overtook them, sleeping in 
the farmer's barn, and going to the house in the morning for a break- 
fast. No ungrateful advantage was ever taken by these uninvited 
guests who claimed the right not aggressively, but as a matter of 
course. 

118 




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■3 




o 






^ 



DOVER FARMS 

"Beneath low hills, in the broad interval 
Through which at will our Indian rivulet 
Winds mindful still of sunnup and of squaw, 
Whose pipe and arrow oft the plough unburies. 
Here, in pine houses, built of new-fallen trees, 
Supplanters of the tribe, the farmers dwell." 

CHARLES FISHER'S house built in 1812, stood on a small piece 
of land east of George Post's. The cellar hole can still be seen. In 
most of the old houses a half century ago the rats took formal pos- 
session and became ancient in spite of traps, cats, or anything that 
could be devised against them. The description of the rats in her 
childhood home by Harriet Beecher Stowe, as related by her son, 
exactly coincides with the experience of the writer in his old Dover 
home. "They romped all night," says Mrs. Stowe, "on the floor of 
the garret over her sleeping room, apparently busy hopping ears of 
com across the floor and rolling them down into their nests between 
the beams." Sometimes she would hear them gnawing and sawing 
behind the wainscotting at the head of her bed, as if they had set 
up a carpenter's shop there, and would be filled with terror lest they 
should come through into her bed. Then there were battles and 
skirmishes and squealings and fighting, and at times it would seem 
as if a whole detachment of rats rolled in an avalanche down walls 
with the cobs of corn they had been stealing This house was removed 
previous to 1833; a part of it forms the house of the late Frank 
Cheney on Winter street, Westwood. 

LUKE DEAN'S farm is now a part of the grounds of the Powisset 
Club Association. The club buildings* stand south of the site of 
the old house, which Mr. Dean occupied at the time of the Revolution. 
The cellar hole can still be seen. This location is called "Dunklin 
hole," a place which is referred to in the Dedham records as early 

*The Powisset Club Association was incorporated under the laws of Mas- 
sachusetts June 3B, 1896. It had a tract of about 35 acres of land. The 
Association built a camp and constructed an artificial pond of about an acre 
In extent by damming the stream which flowed through the premises. The 
Association continued until 1906, when a number having withdrawn, the 
entire property was purchased l^y four members. The three clubhousea of 
the Association were totally destroyed by fire May 10, 1911. 

119 



DOVER FARMS 

as 1716. In attempting to cross the bog, now covered by the water 
of the artificial pond, a man by the name of Dunklin got mired and 
had to be extracted by a friend, since which time it has been called 
Dunklin hole. This place was the terror of farmers, who lost many 
cattle here in its unfathomed depths. — Joseph Dean. 



WILLIAM KING'S farm on Powisset street was long since 
deserted and has entirely disappeared. Mr. King was a skilled 
blacksmith and followed his trade here. He made for the farmers 
of the vicinity, shovels, hoes, forks, fire-dogs, and toasting racks, as 
well as re-tempered axes; he also hammered great iron spikes and 
shingle nails for the carpenter. He settled here in 1763. 



COUNTY STREET extends from Westwood to Medfield, and 
forms the boundary line between Dover and Walpole. This is a 
very old way, but was not laid out until 1719.* County street is 
probably the only road in town that could be called the "King's High- 
way." It was used for through travel in colonial times. 

With the introduction of electric cars on this street, it may be 
interesting to note the development in means of public travel since 
this highway was first opened for public use so many years ago. For 
the first thirty or forty years after the beginning of the present century 
the stage coach was the only means of public travel. These coaches 
designed, with good roads and good weather, and a frequent change 
of horses, to make ten miles an hour. In those days the coach traveled 
night and day, and it took one and a half days to go from Boston to 
New York, a distance which is now covered by the railway train in 
five hours. We may note the improvements that have been made in 
other directions. A brief inspection of modern articles for traveling 
purposes will reveal the progress that has been made in bags and 
trunks. In the day of coach lines people travelled with band 
boxes with cloth covers, which were gathered and brought together 

•Authority, William S. Tilden 

120 



DOVER FARMS 

at the top. Trunks were covered with calfskin, with the hair side 
out, and some good specimens of these ancient hair skin trunks still 
exist. In May, 1834, the first railway train in Massachusetts drawn 
by a locomotive was run from Boston to Newton, and when the road 
was extended to Natick it was an occasion of great interest to the 
residents of Dover. People went from miles around to see the rail- 
way train. In 1846 a line of "busses" was established in Boston, 
which was continued until 1889. After 1851 this line was managed 
and controlled by Jacob H. Hathorne, who owned for many years the 
Lee farm in Westwood, near the Dover line. The busses gradually 
gave way to horse-cars, which were first introduced in Boston in 1856. 
They were soon extended to Roxbury, Brighton, and other suburbs 
of Boston. With the introduction of horse-cars, farmers going to Bos- 
ton often drove to the nearest line of street cars, put their "horse up" 
and took the car into Boston. Electricity as a motive power was 
first used on the streets of Boston in 1888, and has now been extended 
far beyond the suburbs of the city. 

JOSEPH BULLARD purchased the land and settled the T. W. 
Bradbury farm in 1695. He had previously lived in Medfield, where 
his house was burned by the Indians in King Philip's War, and 
never rebuilt. The original house on this farm stood but a short 
distance east of the Medfield line. His son, John Bullard settled here 
soon after his marriage in 1701, and may have lived for a time in the 
house marked by the cellar hole, still to be seen on this farm east of 
the Bradbury house. John Bullard sold the farm to his son, Josiah 
Bullard, in 1739. The present house was probably built in 1810. 
Billings Tisdale, who later owned this farm, had a blacksmith's shop 
here. — Nathaniel Bullard, Aaron Allen, Moses Wadsworth. 

Charles F. Leeds' place was a part of the original Bullard farm. 
The house was built by THOMAS SMITH some seventy years ago. 
Mr. Smith lived on the Bradbury farm and carried on, in connection, 
an extensive brush business. His brush factory, now weather beaten 
and dilapidated, can still be seen on this estate. Here Capt. Henry 
H. Ayer lived, and for a time carried on the business of a cabinet 

121 



DOVER FARMS 

maker, with several men in his employ. He made a specialty of 
the manufacture of tables. 

JONATHAN BULLARD'S farm lies north of County street. It 
was located on a "leading way" which probably extended through to 
Walpole street. This farm was originally a part of his grandfather's 
(Joseph Bullard) estate on County street, and was settled by Jonathan 
Bullard in 1748. It was long since abandoned and has not been 
traced since it was sold in 1762 to Jabez Baker. 

•h -h "i- 

JUNCTION STREET leads from Farm street to the Medfield 
line. It is a road which has been travelled for more than a century 
and originally connected the "west end of Dover" with many old 
Medfield farms. James C. Hopkins moved the original Hartshorn 
house to its present site when he built his mansion house on Farm 
street a few years since. 

Since history is simply the record of the events of human life 
Dover Farms helps to make more complete, in a very real way, 

the narrative history of the town. 

^ 4. .{. 

IF a resident of this town of fifty years ago should return and see 
the Town Hall, the Historical Society's Memorial building, 
the collection of books in the Public Library, the Post Office, with 
its many arrivals and departures of mail, the rural free delivery, the 
daily papers, the frequent railway trains, the telephone, the electric 
lights, the automobiles on the streets, and electric cars in the south 
part of the town, he would realize the change which has come over 
this town during the last half century, largely through the building of 
the railroad. There was little change in the life of the people before 
1860. It was not the Civil War which wrought the change, but that 
world movement, the introduction of machinery. The residents of 
the town who gave time, money and land to gain railroad connections 
with Boston should be held in grateful remembrance. Trains com- 
menced to run in 1861. This was the most important event in the 
modern history of the town. From that time there was a change, slow 
in development, but none the less far reaching. This is no longer 

122 



DOVER FARMS 

a purely agricultural town, but one that is becoming, as the beautiful 
illustrations in this volume show, more and more a residential place. 
Before the building of the railroad there were only two persons with a 
residence in Dover who earned a living elsewhere; now there are 
many such. 

Hiram Adams, who owned the Rogers farm on Pleasant street, 
worked in Boston as a printer and for fifteen years returned to Dover 
every Saturday night. Jared Allen had a pork stall in Faneuil hall 
market for many years, where he had the reputation of supplying the 
best pork in the Boston market. A part of the time he lived in Dover 
and carried on the ancestral farm on Pegan hill. Walter W. Upham 
(followed by a long successions of others) is believed to have been the 
first resident of Dover to make daily trips between his home and Bos- 
ton, all of which was made possible by building the railroad through 
the town. 

The progress of the town can be traced in the development of the 
Post Office. The receipts of the Dover Post Office in 1829 (the year 
of its establishment) were $36.51; 1830, $51.05; 1840, $113.88; 
1860, $38.18; 1880, $167.71; 1900, $388.07; 1905, $614.61; 
1906, $850.21. 



Note. — The location of all houses, since the first settlement of the 
territory, have been described in the foregoing pages, except that of Tim- 
othy Merrifield, whose house is referred to in the following described real 
estate, but has not been definitely placed, although it is believed to have 
been located on Farm street, nearly opposite the house of Elias Haven. 
Ebenezer Newell sold in 1769 to Theodore Newell "40 acres of land 
bounded south by road leading to Springfield Meeting-house, west by land 
of the heirs of Abigail Clark, north on the land of the widow Ellis, east 
on land of Thomas Merrifield and John Mason, with all the buildings 
thereon, excepting one acre on which Timothy Merrifield's house now 
stands." Through the years these Dover estates have been conveyed by 
"clear titles," which was one of the dearest possessions of the New Eng- 
land farmer from the first settlement of the colony to the present day. 



123 



DOVER FARMS 

Cease, mother-land, to fondly boast 

Of sons far off who strive and thrive. 
Forgetful that each swarming host 

Must leave an emptier hive ! 

O wanderers from ancestral soil, 
Leave noisome mill and chaffering store; 

Gird up your loins for sturdier toil. 
And build the home once more. 

What matter if the gains are small 

That life's essential wants supply? 
Your homestead's title gives you all 

That idle wealth can buy. 

Your own sole master's freedom-willed, 

With none to bid you go or stay. 
Till the old fields your fathers tilled. 

As manly men as they ! 

With skill that spares your toiling hands, 

And chemic aid that science brings. 
Reclaim the waste and outworn lands. 

And reign thereon as kings ! 

— IV hit tier. 



Note. — The following customs should be included in this account of 
Dover life. A imiversal practice prevailed of burning chimneys out as a 
precaution against fire. A rainy day was selected in the fall of the year, 
when the chimney was set on fire by means of rye straw placed in the flue. 
Chimnys were often so foul that they burned with such a roar that timid 
children sought other buildings for safety. Camphor bottles were kept, not 
only for medicinal purposes, but were consulted as barometers as well 
for indications of changes in weather. The gum-guiac bottle was always 
at hand and the medicine administered to children for the belly-ache; 
when served with milk it lost its fiery qualities and was not unpleasant to 
take. 



124 



APPENDIX. 




BROOKS. 

HE numerous brooks of the town wending their way to 
the mighty ocean are of more than passing interest, As 
the life of the individual is in some measure determined 
a thousand years before he is born, so the physical 
character of this town was determined many thousands of years before 
its history began. The ice age in the remote past made this at first 
an agricultural town and covered its broken surface with forests of 
oak and pine. The brooks, tributaries to the Charles and Neponset 
rivers, have their sources, and are fed by innumerable springs which 
abound in every section of the town. All the brooks flow out of the 
town and no water comes in, except by rain and the dews of heaven, 
which, filtered through the soil, comes out again in never-failing 
springs. Here lies the secret of the settlement and slow development 
of Dover. 

In the early settlement of the town, water power was fully utilized. 
The Wilsons had a saw-mill on Mill brook which was long in opera- 
tion. Saw, grist and fulling mills were built on Charles river soon after 
King Philip's War. Noanet brook had near its source a saw-mill built 
in 1783, by Samuel Fisher, which was in use for many years. Farther 
down the stream David Wight commenced to build a saw-mill previous 
to his death, in 1752. The property was purchased by Thomas 
Richards in 1753, and the mill completed. A saw-mill was built at 
the mouth of Noanet brook in 1795. Later a grist-mill was established 
in connection, but both mills were abandoned by 1855. In 1815 the 
Dover Union Iron mill was built and the "reserve pond" established. 
John Brown built a saw mill on Little brook, and Ebenezer Smith 
built about the year 1800, on the little run which crosses Farm street 
near Springdale avenue, a wheelwright shop. We should bear in 

125 



APPENDIX 

mind that not a "bucketful" of water runs into the town, but through 
nine brooks millions of gallons of water annually run out. A century 
ago the brooks of the town carried much more water than now. A 
large area was covered with a heavy growth of timber which furnished 
such a covering of leaves that the ground seldom froze solid in win- 
ter, therefore, the rain and the melting snow soaked into the soil and 
the water was saved to keep the springs and streams going all the 
year. With the destruction of so much wood land by forest fires, the 
amount of water has been lessened and all the industries on Dover 
streams have ceased. As the .supply of coal diminishes water power 
will again be utilized and changed into electricity to take the place of 
coal — then these brooks will no longer run to waste. 

^ ^ ^ 

OTTER BROOK* rises on the farm of the late Amos W. Shum- 
way. lis name goes back to the time when the otter, that fish- 
eating animal, inhabited its waters. This animal was very numerous 
in the early settlement of the territory, but has long since disappeared. 
As the generations pass, some forms of life are left behind in the 
race for existence. "We love the creatures that are native to our soil; 
there is fascination in the wild being that knows no tether and 
acknowledges no control." This brook empties into Charles river, near 
the beautiful Dingle Hole narrows. 

^ .{. 4. 

FISHER BROOK has its source on the land of the late Charles 
Williams, on Farm street. Here for more than a century the 
school children have gathered peppermint and spearmint, and so this 
little stream has become clo.sely associated with the out-of-door life 

•All the brooks of the town, with their names, were first laid down on the 
map in the "Biographical Sketches of Dover Soldiers," published by the 
Town In 1909. 

Note. — The small stream never honored with a name, which for many 
years turned the waterwheel at the wheelwright shop of Ebenezer Smith 
and Rufits Battelle, on Farm street, has its beginning on Pegan hill. It 
flows eastward and loses itself in what was early called Great brook. 

126 




o 






a 
^ 




Brooklet, Cenire Street 



APPENDIX 

of the West school. This brook was named for Josiah Fisher, who 
owned the farm for many years, through which it passes in emptying 
into the Charles river. 

•{• 4. 4. 

TROUT BROOK is the largest brook in town. It was called 
both "Great brook" and "Natick brook" in early records. It is 
of service as locating many early grants of land. It rises in the low 
land south of Miller hill and west of the railroad. The water of this 
stream has never been much utilized, although several attempts have 
been made to place mills upon its banks. In time, when the inhab- 
itants realized that its pure water teemed with trout, they gradually 
came to call it by its present name, which was given it previous to 
1750. The Apostle Eliot in his Indian work intended to make Trout 
brook the dividing line between Natick and Dedham. 

Hh 4" "^ 

SPRING BROOK with its pure, sparkling water, has its source 
in the numerous springs near the center of the town. It flows 
through peaceful meadows which abound in springtime with the marsh 
marigold. Watercress grows here in abundance, and is often gathered 
by people from out-of-town, who visit the place for this purpose. The 
tiny, playful trout which inhabit its waters are of interest and are 
often tempted by the fisherman's fly. The public watering place is of 
historical moment, illustrating the primitive way our fathers had of 
watering animals. The boiling spring on the land of the late Theo- 
dore Dunn is a rare and beautiful spring. Mr. Stimson thus refers 
to a historical fact in the naming of this parish in "King Noanett": 
He says: "We called the new parish Springfield, for it had a fine 
spring and we hoped to have fairer fields in time; so that is how our 
parish got its name." We know of no spring which more fully bears 
out the poet's description: 

"Always the same on the fresh May days, 

Or in the summer's burning heat ; 

It bubbles, and flows, and softly sings, 

Of the clearest, purest, loveliest things, 

In a voice that is low and sweet." 

127 



APPENDIX 

LITTLE BROOK, as it was early called, forms one of the tribu- 
taries of Trout brook and rises on the east side of the railroad. 
It is so far afield that it is seldom or never seen by many residents of 
the town. 

^ ^ ^ 

CLAY BROOK carries us back in imagination to the time when 
the early settlers dug clay here for their dwellings. Bricks 
were burned in the first settlement of the town which were used by 
the inhabitants in the building of their houses, and the brook gets its 
name from this practice. Clay lots were sometimes selected and 
deeded from father to son. Clay brook has its source in the low land 
back of the First Parish Meeting-house, between Church and Haven 

streets. It flows through a secluded section of the town. 

4. ^ 4. 

NOANET BROOK bears a significant name. It was called for 
an Indian chief who lived on its banks and set his weirs in 
Charles river, where he caught salmon, shad and alewives and taught 
this method to the whites. Early attempts were made to establish 
mills on this stream, but all ultimately failed. Noanet brook rises in 
the south part of the town, in the vicinity of Cedar hill, and empties 
into Charles river. It flows through a picturesque and beautiful sec- 
tion of the town. 

4. ^ 4. 

MILL BROOK rises in Westwood, flows northward across the 
easterly part of Dover, and empties into Charles river. The 
first settlement in Dover was made on this brook, which watered the 
farmer's stock. It flows through wooded fields, where the barberry 
and other shrubs abound. The beaver dam, recalled by old residents, 
was on this stream and for many years appealed to the imagination of 
all visitors. Perhaps the first forest trees were felled by the beaver 
and the branches gnawed off and carried to this stream. The follow- 
ing description of the beaver is given by Dr. Samuel Willard of Ver- 
mont, who knew the animal well: "In no animal does the social 
instinct and habit appear more strong or universal than in the beaver. 
Wherever a number of these animals are found, they immediately 
associate and combine in society, to pursue their common business and 

128 



APPENDIX 

welfare. Everything is done by the united counsels and labor of the 
whole community. Their societies are generally called together in the 
month of June or July, all of which immediately engage in a joint 
effort to promote the common business and safety of the whole 
society; apparently acting under a common inclination and direction. 
The society of beavers seems to be regulated and governed altogether 
by natural dispositions and laws. Their society, in all its pursuits 
and operations, appear to be a society of peace and mutual affection, 
guided by one principle and under the same direction. Their asso- 
ciations and management have the aspect of a pure and perfect 
democracy founded on the principle of perfect equality and the strong- 
est mutual attachment. This principle seems to be sufficient to pre- 
serve the most perfect harmony and to regulate all the proceedings 
of their large society. This brook takes its name from the fact that 
a saw mill was built on its banks, near the home of the late Ephraim 
Wilson at an early date for the sawing of ship timber. 

^ ^ ^ 

TUBWRECK BROOK is of interest as the northerly source of 
the Neponset river. The social life of the people of the time 
is well illustrated in the naming of this stream. It happened one 
spring when the meadows were flooded, that there were an abundance 
of cranberries floating down the stream, which James Tisdale desired 
to gather. As he had no boat at hand, he brought out his big hog tub 
and proceeded to scoop up the cranberries from the water. The craft 
proved unmanageable and he soon capsized. Scrambling out of the 
water, he made his way to the house, supposing that no one outside 
of his family had witnessed the scene. But Caleb Smith chanced to 
be riding horseback on the turnpike and saw the affair. He was so 
convulsed with laughter at the performance that he fell from his horse, 
but gathering himself up, mounted, and rode to West Dedham, where 
he spread the news. Mr. Tisdale was immediately called "The 
Admiral." He was presented with nautical instruments, log books, 
and tables for reckoning longitude and latitude, a sailor's rig, and 
a great variety of provisions such as are used in stocking a merchant- 
ship. Ship papers were made out, and he received many letters of 
sympathy and advice with offers of help for future voyages. 

129 



APPENDIX 

The "Admiral" wrote an account of the voyage on which he met 
with this great disaster, a verse of which is recalled as follows: 

"I sailed from off 
Of Turnpike wharf 

As bold as any rover, 
And swore that none 
Should laugh or scoff 

At the seamen of High Dover." 

It is of interest to note some of the industries that have had a 
beginning on this stream farther down in Milton and Dorchester as it 
winds to the sea. On its banks the first grist mill in New England 
was built in 1634; the first powder mill in the colony in 1675; the 
first paper mill in the colony in 1728, the first chocolate mill in the 
colony in 1765; the first slitting mill in the colony in 1710. Ship- 
building was commenced on the Neponset as early as 1640, and the 
first railroad in the United States was built from the quarries in 
Quincy to a point on the Neponset river in 1826, to carry the granite 
used in building Bunker Hill Monument. 

This stream is called MILL BROOK in Medfield, as the first mill 
in that town was built upon its banks, probably in the spring of 1652, 
by George Barber. We can say of this brook what the Indian said of 
the stream in Cooper's "Last of the Mohicans": "Does not this stream 
at our feet run toward the summer, until its waters grow salt, and the 
current flows upward." 

4« .^ ^i 

NORTH BROOK, in Medfield, rises in the westerly part of 
Dover, flows southward, and empties into Charles river. This 
brook turns the wheels of the mill on North street, and the saw mill 
at Medfield Junction. It flows through an exceptionally open country 
and adds to its beauty and fertility. Some of the first-settled farms in 
both Dover and Medfield were watered by this stream. 

4" ♦ ^ 

THE Apostle Eliot in his Indian settlement at Natick was deter- 
mined in his efforts to extend the bounds on the east as far 
as Trout brook. This fact was established by the Rev. John Allin of 

130 



APPENDIX 

Dedham in 1661, who said that it was Mr. Eliot's request "that he 
have a grant of Dedham lands unto a certain brook about a mile 
on this side of Natick hill, toward our town." Mr. Eliot early com- 
menced to build a saw-mill on this stream, but was prevented from 
completing his work by the Dedham settlers. Joshua Fisher said in 
1661 "that when the town heard Mr. Eliot was about to erect a mill 
about a mile this side of Natick, the town sent for him to forbear till 
he might have the approbation of the town." This was probably in 
1653. When Gov. Endicott visited the Indian village* in 1651, the 
subject of building a mill was discussed. After dinner the company 
went out to view a place for it, and as Eliot commenced his operations 
on Trout brook, this was doubtless one of the spots visited by his 
excellency. The mill referred to by the Rev. Samuel Haven of Ded- 
ham, in his centennial sermon, which he states was never completed, 
was doubtless this attempted effort. Mill operations were confined 
at this period to brooks, as large streams had not been dammed even 
in England. Mr. Eliot finally succeeded in building a saw-mill in 
1658, on Saw Mill brook, in what is now the town of Wellesley. With 
the growth of population, on the territory of Dedham, saw-mills became 
a prime necessity. The land was covered with the original forests 
and the timber was much needed for building purposes. Hard wood 
abounded, which in later years gave place to soft woods in the suc- 
cession of forest growth. The falls, at what is now called Charles 
River, were early found to furnish just the place for the location of a 
saw millf to accommodate the increasing settlers. A dam was thrown 
across the river at this point, and a mill built by Daniel and Joshua 
Fisher after King Philip's War.$ The Fishers lived in Needham 
and owned land on both sides of Charles river. John Fisher sold to 
Nathaniel Chickering a third interest in his saw mill, which was 

*To the inventory named in the addres.s given on the occasion of the 
unveiling of the tablet erected to the memory of the Indians should be 
added the toboggan, which the Indians seem to have used as a sled of 
burden, and not as a pleasure chariot. 

tFor other mills and industries see Narrative History of Dover. 

JHorace Mfinn in Field Day papers. South Natick Historical Society, 1883. 

131 



APPENDIX 

located, in 1733, on the Dover side. Mr. Fisher parted with the 
remaining two-thirds interest in the land in Dedham, in 1739, 
bounded "north, east and west by Charles river," to his son-in-law, 
Caleb Wheaton, reserving the mill property and a right of way, but 
giving Mr. Wheaton permission to built a "fulling mill" at the south 
of the mill dam. Mills of this kind were in demand for the purpose 
of fulling and dyeing home-made cloth. It will be seen that there 
was variety in manufactures here even before 1800, when Josiah 
Newell, George Bird and George Fisher of Needham, and Jonathan 
Ellis of Boston became interested and an extensive plant was estab- 
lished. A new dam was built across the river which was spoken of 
as the "new dam"* in 1795. A paper mill was built on the Need- 
ham side of the river which continued in operation for a century, or 
until the property was destroyed by fire a few years since. Iron works 
were built on the Dover side previous to the year 1800, consisting of 
a slitting mill, rolling mill, triphammer, bellows, nail and brad works. 
When in 1787 a mint was established by the legislature of Massa- 
chusetts, and the mint master ordered to commence the coining of 
cents and half cents, he experienced great difficulty, as there were no 
rolling mills in America. A mill for the rolling and hammering of 
metal used in coining was put in operation in Dedham in 1787 or 
1788, followed a few years later by the establishment of rolling mills 
in Dover, which were among the early rolling mills of America. At 
this time steps were taken to locate a grist mill on the north side and 
a new saw mill on the south side of the river. The saw mill was 
located on the creek, the right having been purchased of Lemuel Rich- 
ards "to sink, dig, and enlarge said creek." Both mills appear to have 
been built in 1795, and were especially protected in their privileges. 
The grist mill was given permission to "draw water till it falls four- 
teen inches below the top of the plate of said new dam, and no other 

♦The new darr. laid down hy William Ellis on the map of Dover published 
in 1831 was never completed. When in the development of the water 
power at Charles River the new dam was put in there was great rivalry 
between the owners of this dam and Ralph Day, who was buliding the new 
one further down the stream. Work was pushed night and day, and as the 
dam at Newell's bridge was completed first, it made Mr. Day's dam useless, 
and so it was never completed; the foundation stones, however, can still 
be seen at low water, 

132 



APPENDIX 

than the gate of the paper mill shall draw to the damage of said grist 
mill after the water falls two inches below the top of said plate, except- 
ing also a privilege for a saw mill on the creek, in Dover, which is 
not to draw water to the damage of other mills till it covers a hole 
made in a rock at the head of the creek when the gates of the old dam 
are shut, or a lower mark on said rock when the gates of the old dam 
are drawn." 

With the development of the paper business the grist mill was given 
up on the north side of the river, and one was established in connec- 
tion with the old saw mill which was in operation up to 1853. Soon 
after that date both mills were discontinued. 

In 1853 Goss & Russell formed a partnership and purchased all 
of the mill property at what was then called "Dover Mills." They 
soon converted the property into a paper-mill plant. New buildings 
were erected, modern machinery introduced, and a large business was 
developed. Later Frederick Barden, Otis Pettee, Elijah Perry, 
Samuel Newell and others carried on the business. About 1860 Wil- 
liam Hill & Sons, took up the manufacture of sheathing paper which 
they carried on for many years. All the teaming was done by horses 
before the building of the railroad, an occupation which furnished 
employment to quite a number of men in carting the material and 
merchandise between the mills and Boston. 

Southward from the mills at Charles River, and some distance 
above Dedham street on Noanet brook, was the unfinished mill of 
David Wight. Thomas Richards purchased the property in 1753 of 
the administrator of Mr. Wight's estate. This mill lot was thirteen 
rods square, with the brook running through the middle of it. Mr. 
Richards received with the lot "all ye labor that ye said David Wight 
did do toward ye making of a dam upon said premises in order for 
said mill." Mr. Richards completed the work and had a saw mill in 
operation, which was followed a half century later by the building of 
the "New Mill," by the Dover Union Iron Company, north of the saw 
mill site. 

There was a small keg mill still farther down the stream which 
was built by Calvin Richards in 1851. The mill was leased by Perez 
Fearing for two years, followed by Rodney Hodgson, W. Mason Rich- 

133 



APPENDIX 

ards and Lewis Smith. The latter manufactured shoe filling here, 
supplementing the water power with horse power. The horse attached 
to the moving beam, is still recalled by the older residents of the 
town, as he went round and round the circle. William A. Howe suc- 
ceeded Mr. Smith in the business and took the machinery to Charles 
River, but soon removed to Main street, where he carried on the busi- 
ness for many years. Power was gained through the tread mill. 
To-day, by means of electrical power, the motor can be employed in 
any part of the town and in any industry. 

The mill was burned in 1860 and was not rebuilt. 

Luther Richards built a shop on Strawberry hill where for several 
years he engaged in the manufacture of glue. In the early sixties this 
building was converted into a dwelling house, which is still standing 
on the hill. 

Henry H. Ayers bought in 1851 the little farm on County 
street, since known as the Leeds place. Here with his shop on the 
opposite side of the road he manufactured furniture until 1861, when 
he gave up his business and entered the army. He always had a 
number of apprentices whom he taught the trade of the cabinet maker. 
While he manufactured much furniture for local dealers he made a 
specialty of tables. 

In the south part of the town, Samuel Fisher, who inherited the 
Powisset farm, built a saw mill in 1783, which is still remembered. 
The mills on Noanet brook were all a disappointment, as the flow of 
water was not adequate for mill purposes. 

Ephraim Wilson erected a saw mill early in the settlement of the 
town on Mill brook, which was used for many years in squaring two 
sides of the ship timber which was cut in the vicinity for the Boston 
market. 

John and Joseph Draper had a dam on Trout brook, which was 
spoken of in 1753 as the new dam. It extended across the meadows 

134 



APPENDIX 

: I ' p -: I'. 

and formed a part of Springdale avenue as now laid out, but there is 
no evidence that a mill was ever built here. Further south John 
Brown utilized the stream with a saw and grist mill, which was 
abandoned after some years, as the water supply was inadequate. 
There was a shoe shop on the training field, probably built by John 
Williams, where boots and shoes were made for the market. Here 
Samuel B. Scott and Leonard Maring, both of whom took brides from 
the town, worked at their trade. Nearly opposite, and in connection 
with the tavern, was a shop for the making and repairing of shoes 
where H. and Z. Moore worked for the residents of the town. This 
was before the day of prepared stock, and everything was cut out 
and made by hand from leather tanned in town. The low bench and 
the walls adorned with boot and shoe lasts remained intact until the 
building was burned in 1908. 

With the introduction of trade between Boston and the Indies, there 
was created a demand for casks and bogheads. Having an abundance 
of suitable wood, several coopers commenced to manufacture casks here 
as early as 1725. This business was carried on especially by Asa 
Mason on Pine street, Samuel Allen on County street, Ebenezer Newell 
and Asa Richards on Strawberry hill, and Edward Bowers. Oak trun- 
nels, which were used in ship building, were also made on many farms 
in the winter season, and were piled in long rows or tiers by the 
roadside. 

While women engaged in spinning, weaving was too hard employ- 
ment for them, and so weaving shops were set up in different parts 
of the town, where the thwacking of the loom was heard from morning 
until night. Weaving shops were located on the farms of Jesse Newell 
on Center street, Josiah Richards on Strawberry hill, John Griggs on 
Dedham street, Thomas Burrage on Farm street and John Burrage on 
Center street. Husk collars for work horses were made on some farms 
for many years. They were braided from the inner husks of corn and 
were both light and cool for the summer. Collars were also made from 
straw. Braided husk door mats were made in every home and were 
in general use until near the close of the 19th century. 

It is interesting in connection with these industries to note the 
changes which have gradually taken place in the employment of the 

135 



APPENDIX 

people of this town — as illustrated by the accompanying map — from 
the time when by every fireside the hum of the spinning wheel was 
heard, and on some farms the thwack of the loom; when every house- 
wife made her own candles, soap, butter and cheese, knit the stockings 
and made the clothing for the family; when the women folks in gen- 
eral engaged in making quilts, braiding mats, braiding straw, clos- 
ing shoes, weaving palm leaf, and in sewing straw hats and bonnets; 
when farmers had, in connection with their farms, blacksmith's 
shops, shoe shops, weaving shops, cooper's shops, and cabinet maker's 
shops; when scattered over the town were carpenter's shops, slaughter 
houses, cider mills, a brush shop, whip shop, wheelwright's shop, 
plow and axe factory, glue factory, keg mill, shingle mill, shoe "fill- 
ing" mills, cigar shops, grist mills, saw mills, fulling mill, rolling 
mills, slitting mills, nail factory, paper mills, organ factory, printing 
plant, brick kiln, tannery and currying shop, with the cutting of ship 
timber, the burning of charcoal, the shaving of hoops, the peeling of 
bark, the manufacture of cider vinegar, pig-sticking, and the produc- 
tion of beef and pork. These industries furnished diversity in the 
employment of a people who at best led but a monotonous life. Of 
these industries only the blacksmith's shop and the cider mill remain. 
As soon as the country began to be settled, apple orchards were cul- 
tivated, not for the fruit alone, but more especially for the making 
of cider, which was consumed in large quantities. The cider mug 
added greatly to the sociability of the times. 

"Not a guest upon the threshold got a more benignant smile 
Than when upon a platter, flanked by apples and by pears, 
The pewter pitcher rose splashing full of cider up the dark old cellar 
stairs." 

Cider presses were set up on many of the old farms.* The location 
of a dozen such presses can now be definitely given. The first cider 
press in town was located on the farm of Henry Wilson, the first 
settler. Here has been illustrated in the years that have passed, the 
entire evolution in the process of cider making from the hand press of 

* For the location of all town cider mills see "Procedings 150th Anniversary 
Celebration," page 58. 

136 



APPENDIX 

two hundred years ago to the steam cider mill of yesterday. The first 
mill stood out of doors, with only a roof over the press. This was the 
most primitive kind of a mill, and by its use cider making was a 
very laborious process. Later mills were built one story with a base- 
ment, and were usually located on a side hill, which facilitated the 
unloading of apples. A sunny exposure was selected for the mill, as 
it was often late in the fall before it closed and cold weather interfered 
with the work when the mill occupied an exposed position. By the 
old method cider was made in wooden mills. Not a particle of iron 
was allowed to come in contact with the juice of the apple, lest a dis- 
agreeable taste and bad color should be imparted to the cider. Only 
vvooden shovels were used in handling the pulp or pomace as it was 
called. 

In order to heighten the color of the cider, the pomace was carried 
into a long trough, where it was allowed to stand for hours and often 
over night, before it was shoveled on to the press. 

The mill proper was situated in the basement and consisted of a 
long trough, capable of holding at least a hundred bushels of apples 
when ground into pulp. Midway of this trough and across it was 



Notes. — A word might be added about the home preserving of foods. 
The women had no need of cold storage; in summer, when eggs were 
plentiful, and before water glass came into use, they were put down in 
salt to be drawn upon when the hens failed to lay eggs in early winter. 
In the spring the home-made sausage was fried and preserved in its own 
fat in stone jars, thus extending the use of pork products far beyond the 
usual season. With the drying of apples, huckleberries, and stewed pump- 
kin, and the making of cider apple sauce, jellies and jams, came — after 
they had been extended to general use — the preserving of tomatoes in her- 
metically sealed large-mouthed glass bottles. The first tomatoes raised in 
this country were grown from seed brought from England and were 
planted in the vicinity of Boston soon after 1830. Like potatoes, when 
first introduced, they were thought to be poisonous. The tomato was 
often called by our grandmothers "the cancer plant," as many believed it 
to be the cause of this terrible disease. Now the tomato is one of the most 
largely consumed vegetable grown in America. 

From the first settlement of the town pork products were preserved by 
pickling, but the custom was long ago abandoned and the recipe for 
"pickled shoulder" is no longer found in the old homesteads. 

137 



Appendix 

framed a heavy timber, upon which was set, side by side, two vertical 
wooden nuts with corrugated surfaces that interlocked. These nuts 
turned on an axis, the lower end fitted into a hole in the cross timber, 
while the upper end was framed into a large horizontal beam made 
from the whole trunk of a tree; one of the long limbs of which when 
inverted furnished a natural crook, to which a horse was hitched, 
which furnished the motive power. The horse was driven around 
the trough in a large circle. His bridle was often fastened to a pole 
stuck into the horizontal timber on the opposite side, so that when he 
started he virtually led himself in an endless round. 

A hopper was hung from the lower ends of the nuts, into which 
the apples were shoveled from above and sliding down against the 
revolving coggs, were crushed into pulp. A boy with a wooden paddle 
kept the surface of the nuts clear from the pomace which adhered to 
them during the process of grinding. 

The pomace was placed on the press with first a layer of clean rye 
straw and then a layer of pomace. The press was built of narrow 
boards, locked at the corners, with spaces between each for the juice 
to escape. The press was buiU up log-house fashion, and could be 

Amid the comfort and luxury of Dover homes of to-day it should be 
borne in mind that before the early forties the fireplace furnished the 
only means of heating and cooking. While the living room was comfort- 
able in winter the "entry'-as the hall was called-and the chambers were 
as cold and cheerless as they could be. In homes as late as 1858 even the 
"best room" was carpetless; but where a son had married and brought 
home a bride the parlor floor was likely to have a carpet by the middle 
of the last century, but in many homes the cooking stove came even later. 
The house of Benjamin Newell, on Mill street, which was P^-^ased by 
Edmund B. Otis in 1867 and remodelled, is believed to have been the hrst 
house in Dover to be heated throughout. 

There was no "book farming" on these old farms, as agnciiltural books 
were looked upon with "good-humored contempt " yet the New England 
Farmer established in 1822, was read in some families and the Boston 
Cuhivator, first published in 1843, was often found in the home o even 
the smallest farmer, as its several departments appealed to the family and 
its reports of the Brighton Market were found reliable. 

On every farm there was the set kettle, holding about thirty gallons, in 
which water was heated for farm purposes, food for animals cooked, soap 

138 



APPENDIX 

carried to any desired height, and adjusted to a large or small quantity 
of apples. 

The floor of the press was made of three-inch plank and was per- 
fectly tight. It projected a foot or more beyond the side of the rack, 
where the pomace was placed, and around its outside edge was a 
groove, or deep channel where the juice was caught as it flowed from 
the press and carried to the tub, from which it was put into barrels. 

After the rack had been filled with pomace, a wooden cover was 
placed on top, a large timber was then laid on, into which had been 
cut places for (he beveled heads of the immense wooden screws which 
were hung in a massive timber directly above. In the heads of these 
screws were large holes into which horn beam levers were thrust, and 
after the screw? had been adjusted, they were turned down by means 
of these levers which gave an enormous pressure. The screws were 
tightened at short intervals during the day. The next morning the 
rack was removed and the pressure relaxed. The cheese, as it was 
called, was cut down, with a sharp knife so as to leave the base con- 
siderably larger than the top. The trimmings were placed on top 
of the cheese and the screws again turned down until the remaining 
juice was extracted. The cheese was usually removed from the pres"^ 



made, and on washing days the clothes boiled. The set kettle was often 
placed in an attachment to the kitchen which also held the cheese press. 

As late as the centennial year some farmers wore long frocks on all 
occasions of business. These frocks were cut after the pattern of a shirt 
and were made from blue all-wool f rocking, of which there was consider- 
able variety in weight and mixture. The best material was found in 
Brighton stores, where it was in demand by butchers, traders and drovers, 
as well as farmers. 

In every household there was the bed wrench, which was used in setting 
up the cord bedstead found for nearly two centuries in Dover homes. In 
setting up a bed the cord couldn't be drawn taut enough with the hand, 
and so the bed wrench which gave a leverage when tangled in the rope' 
was used, and the cord thus brought to a condition of satisfactory taut- 
ness. As the work went on the rope was held in place by a wooden plug 
driven into the small hole through which the rope passed, and thus the 
corder went from side to side, holding fast all that he had gained by 
inserting the wooden plug. The setting up of the cord bed was one of 
the most difficult and perplexing tasks that anyone was ever called upon 

139 



APPENDIX 

to the roadside, in the vicinity of the mill, where it was left in large 
heaps to decay or to be carted away by neighboring farmers. 

The apples were drawn to the mill by an ox team. The barrels to 
receive the cider were often placed on top of the load. The driver 
frequently had to wait his turn to unload at the mill. Every farmer 
who brought apples had a place partitioned off to him by means of 
adjustable boards. The apples were measured by the bushel, and a 
boy was usually sent to tally off the load. A slanting chalk mark was 
made for each bushel on a large board, and every fifth line was 
drawn across the others, so that the tally was in groups of five and 
easily counted. The farmer took in return four gallons of cider for 
every bushel of apples delivered and in later years paid fifty cents a 
barrel for manufacturing. Cider made from apples gathered in the 
late fall is the best, and that manufactured from russet apples excels 
all other. Everyone was granted the privilege of freely drinking 
cider at the press and children with long rye straws, through which 
they sucked the sweet cider as it flowed from the press, were often as 
thick as the bees around the apples. During the fall the cider mill 
imparted to the locality an air of bustling activity which is missed 
today. 

to do in the household. On the web of the bed cord the straw tick was 
placed with its big slit, where fresh rye straw or corn husks were put in 
from time to time. On top of this tick the live geese feather bed was 
placed, which would nearly bury one out of sight when he got into it by 
aid of the stepladder still used in some country homes. 

Every house had in the cellar its swinging shelf on which was ranged 
home-made jams, jellies, pickles and preserves all neatly labelled and 
sealed. 

A fashionable woman's club recently held a quilting party. We are told 
that a professional quilter had to be hired to do the actual work, but that 
in all other respects "the occasion was very realistic." We suppose then, 
says The Evening Mail, that the men folks came in to supper, about 6 
or 7 o'clock, while the quilt was still on the frame, with the old ladle* 
peering at it through their silver-bowed glasses, and thrusting their 
needles down through and back again, making the last stitches. The young 
women and the girls, of course, were meantime putting the finishing 
touches on the supper, while the men, coming in soiled after the day's 
work, were getting their overalls off in the woodshed, and grouping them- 

140 



APPENDIX 

Cider drinking was so common in these households that the last 
person to get up in the morning had to draw the cider for the day. 

At the beginning of the 19th century the cottage type of farm house 
was giving way to the style of house built by Amos Wight on Farm 
street and Henry Tisdale on Walpole street. The never-failing 
springs, from which the early settlers got their water, were bein? 
abandoned for wells, with the curb and windlass. There was an in- 
creasing acreage of tillage land with greater variety in the cultivation 
of cereals and garden vegetables. Fewer farmers were on the road 
with the products of the forest and more employment was found on 
home farms. Larger herds and flocks fed in the pastures, and the 
fields were under better cultivation. The roads were being improved 
with a tendency on the part of fanners to accept cartways, which had 
been fenced with rails and gates, and to develop them into public 
highways. 

There was still no post office; letters were received at Dedham 
from the letter post, which daily passed through that town. Being 
off the direct line of travel Dover was not even a stage coach town 
for many years. Access was had at West Needham (Wellesley) with 
coaches for Worcester, and at Dedham for Bristol, R. I. where con- 
nection was made with the New York boats; later New York coaches 
were run over the Hartford Turnpike for some years. Several at- 

selves around the water tub and the bucket of brown soft-soap and box 
of sand just outside the back door. 

The supper consisted of sparerib, baked potatoes, chicken pie, johnny 
cake, hot biscuits and molasses, Indian pudding (half rye), pumpkin, apple 
and custard pie, and tarts, with tea, cofifee and cider. One pitcher of the 
cider, reserved for the older men, was quite hard. 

After supper the hanging kerosene lamp in the settin'-room was lighted, 
and the men went in to criticise the quilt and recognize the patches. In 
fact, the history and genealogy of every square in the quilt was gone over 
searchingly, unsparingly. But on the whole, the feeling was excellent. 

After the whole party had loaded itself into the wagons, except the 
pairs of boys and girls who preferred to walk, and had gone home, the 
family went in and took a proud look at the finished quilt, which was left on 
'/he frame for several days as a memorial of a great occasion. 

Perhaps the Club had all this at its quilting. If it didn't the affair was 
not real after all. 

141 



APPENDIX 

tempts were made before the building of the railroad to establish a 
daily coach. John Williams was a director in the Woonsocket line 
which passed through Dover for a time and stopped at his tavern for a 
change of horses. 

After the opening of the Post Office in 1829 there was for some 
years a semi-weekly mail on Wednesday and Saturday from Dedham. 
With the extension in 1834 of the Boston & Worcester railroad to 
Grantville (Wellesley Hills) Marshall Newell engaged in carrying 
the Dover mail, several times a week, with passengers to Grantville, 
where later (1850) connections were made by a daily coach which 
left Dover in the morning and returned in the evening with passen- 
gers, the mail, and daily papers. Connections were later made with 
Bailey's coach at South Natick. After the opening of the Charles 
River Railroad in 18.S3, a coach was run to Needham, which was 
later extended south to Medfield and Medway by way of Centre 
street. This line was continued until the opening of the Air Line 
Railroad to Dover in 1861. A century ago the tavern was in a 
flourishing condition and the proprietor, John Williams, was at the 
height of his business career. The school houses were full of children 
and college students were often among the excellent teachers of the 
town. The people found their recreation among themselves, yet 
the social life was good and abundant; there was the kindliest 
neighborly feeling, and in times of misfortune, sickness, or death, 
the deepest sympathy and the most prompt assistance. A few weekly 
papers found their way into the town and circulated in the homes; 
daily papers, however, did not commence to be read until after the 

With the wealth of inustrations which this volume contains it is re- 
gretted that a picture could not be given of the "swimming hole," where 
the boys for generations took their weekly baths. It has been a maxim 
taught for many years that "cleanliness is next to godliness," and so during 
the summer months, at least, the men and boys took weekly baths. Going 
back for many years farmers, after haying time, often made day trips to 
the seashore for salt water bathing. Swimming holes were common on 
Charles river, and in Farm pond, Sherborn, where the boys in the west part 
of Dover went to swim on Sunday mornings ; and when one of their number 

142 



APPENDIX 

establishment of the daily mail, and even then were largely confined 
to a radius of a mile from the Post Office. After the opening of the 
railroad, daily papers, especially the Boston Herald, were found in 
a majority of homes. The books of the little circulating library, 
probably kept in the centre of the parish, were read by the young and 
exerted an uplifting and civilizing influence even before the beginning 
of the 19th century. 

was accidentally drowned in early July, a hard-fisted old farmer remarked, 
"That it was a mighty bad time for a boy to get drowned in the haying 
season." A half century ago very few private houses anywhere had bath- 
tubs, although the custom of weekly bathing was early introduced and 
practiced to some extent, but "the ordinary wooden tub played the dual 
role of both bath tub and wash tub in those days." Previous to fifty years 
ago there were no bath tubs in Dover homes. It is not known whether 
the first bath tub was introduced by Eugene Bachelder or Edmund B. Otis : 
both remodeled their houses about the same time and introduced modern 
improvements. Now even the shower bath is found in every well- 
appointed garage in town, and bath tubs are common for the use of 
domestics. 



143 




PICTURE of the life given in these pages has been well 
drawn by former Governor John D. Long, in the follow- 
ing excerpts: 

The environment of two generations ago had features. 
I have often spoken of the time before the Civil War as the Golden 
Age. The population was homogeneous, substantially of Anglo- 
Saxon stock. There was no overcrowding or congestion. The rural 
people held their prestige and the boys and girls filled the country 
schoolhouscs, many of which have now been abandoned. Boys learned 
trades, and the leading mechanics of Boston were its officials. Mayors, 
Aldermen and directors of its charitable institutions. 

There was always easy and familiar intercourse between all classes, 
an entire personal independence, and in all public matters — the Legis- 
lature, town meeting and the elections— absolute equality. Now the 
town meeting is a thing of the past for far more than half the people 
of Massachusetts; it was then the government of nine-tenths of them. 
Crime was infrequent. Robbery and burglary and the like were so 
rare that any such case was a cause celcbre. Automobile, railroad and 
electric car accidents with loss of life were not of daily occurrence. In 
short, there had then come little or nothing of the swirling, sweltering, 
crowding, pushing and hauling intensity of life which now not only 
in business but in our so-called recreations and amusements keeps us 
as disquiet and tumultuous as com popping on a hot skillet. It was 
as near the day of the simple life in home and dress and entertainment 
and business as we shall ever come. 



144 



INDEX 

Adams, Hiram, 50, 123; James, 71. Bailey, Marietta, 44; Rev. Timothy, 
Alary, Amelia B., 105. 44. 

Allen, Amos, 109; Aaron, 2, 121; Balls, 68. 

Benjamin, 2; Calvin. 21, 23; Balm Gilead, 84. 

David E., 23 ; Eleazer, 2, 60 ; Baptist Church, 44, 52. 

Eleazer, Jr., 51 ; Hezekiah, 2, Barberry, 78. 

21, 28, 100; Hezekiah, Jr., Barden, Calvin, 73; Frederick, 71, 

21, 22, 30; Jared, 29, 42, 123; Barter, 110. 

Jeremiah, 79 ; Joseph, 61 ; Bartlett, Albert, 20 ; Clement, 86. 

Joseph, Jr., 29; Rev. Mor- Bathing, 142. 

rell, 53; Perez. 23; Samuel, Battelle, Rev. Allen E., 44; Ebenezer, 

135; Sumner, 29; William P., 48, 82, 102; George, 7, 11, 12, 

21,23; Timothy, 30, 51, 108: 26; Hezekiah, 57; John, 7, 

Zellah, 44. 8, 11, 45, 51; Jonathan, 48, 

Allen Homestead, 61 ; Songs, 28. 52; Jonathan, Jr., 2, 11; 

Allin, Rev. John, 130. Josiah, 44; Josiah, Jr., 

Ambler, Harvey, 53. 45 ; Nathaniel, 2, 48, 71 ; 

Amusements, 77, 90. Rufus, 26; Ralph, 111; 

Animals, 9, 41. Sherman, 44; Thomas, 2, 48, 

Arlington, 13. 91 ; Win f red W., 12. 

Astrology, 45. "Battle Row," 42. 

Austin, James W., 24. Baltzell, Wm. Hewson., 94. 

Ayer, Henry H., 121, 134; Jesse, Bean, Asa S., 46; Charles S., 79. 

76; Fisher, 71; Mrs. Fisher, Beavers, 128. 

56. Beef, 40. 

(Beef packing, 49. 

Bachelder, Eugene, 48. Bees, 20. 

Bachelder, John P., 29. Bell, William, 18. 

Bacon, Aaron, 21; Albert, 44; Bigelow, Abraham, 9, 12, 23; Mrs. 

Edward, 44, 102; Ephraim, Abraham, 13; Charles A., 74; 

90; Fanny, 47; Francis, 47; Calvin, 43-73; Edward B., 23; 

Frank E., 49; John, 2, 89; George H., 23; William, 43. 

John, Jr., 2 ; Martin, 10 ; Blackman, Warren, 16. 

Michael, 2, 89; Richard, 48; Blacksmith shops, 47. 

Silas, 43. Blake, Edward, 66; Seth, 72. 

Bacon School, 47. Bliss, Linus, 20, 42, 48, 106. 

Baker,Jabez,75.77,86; Jabcz,Jr., 75. Bond, Richard H., 87. 

Baker's cart, 13. Book Farming, 137. 

Bakery, 20, Boot Shop, 43. 
" / 145 



INDEX 



"Boston Road," 78. 

Bowers, Edward, 74, 135. 

Boyden, Daniel, 86. 

Bradbury, T. W., 121. 

Breagy, John, 110. 

Brick, 1, 26, 128. 

Bridge Street, 39. 

Brooks, 125. 

Brown. John, 21, 23, 134; John H., 
74; John M., 23, 46; Ma- 
son, 23. 

Buckwheat, 72. 

Bulfinch, F. v., 105. 

Bullen, Amaziah, 15 ; Bela, 17. 

Bullard, John, 2, 121 : Jonathan, 2, 
121; Joseph, 121, 122; Na- 
thaniel, 121. 

Burke, T. P., 102. 

Burns. John, 66, 110. 

Burrae^e, George D., 75; John, 21, 
57; Obed,20; Thomas, 15, 20. 

Campbell, Rufus, 46. 

Carpenters, 27, 28. 

Cary, Michael, 81. 

Caryl, Rev. Benjamin, 67, 70, 71 ; 

Dr. George, 70; School, 70. 
Cattle Show, 51. 
Center Street, 50. 

Chamberlain, George, 11 ; Lyman, 21 
Chimney Burning, 124. 
Chestnut Street, 106. 
Chickering, Charles H., 98; Daniel 

111; Eliphalet, 2, 54, 107; 

George, 97 ; George E., iii, 96 ; 

James, 111; James H., 98; 

Jesse, 97; John, 21, 81, 97; 

Joseph, 50, 72, 95 ; Nathaniel, 

2, 96, 97, 110, 130; Phebe A., 

54; Path, 107; Samuel, 2, 

113, 117. 
Cheney. Benjamin P.. 93, ini ; James, 

109; John, 9, 15, 42, 64, 100, 

109; Simon, 111. 



Christmas Presents, 59. 

Church Bell, 24. 

Church Sexton, 24. 

Church Street, 107. 

Cider Mills, 24, 25, 38, 89, 96, 136. 

Cigar Shop, 20. 

Clancy, Humphry, 81 ; John, 86. 

Clay brook, 1, 128; Road. 89. 

Cleveland, David, 48; George, 48; 
William, 48, 51. 

Clifford, Oliver, 11. 

Cobb, Bailey, 22. 

Coasting, 101. 

Colburn, Everett, 50 ; Granville, 89 ; 
Irving, 26. 

College Graduate, First, 71. 

Colcord. Samuel M., 23, 114; Wal- 
lace R., 24. 

Comfort Bags, 100. 

Comiskey, Michael W., 48, 71. 

Conrick, William, 116. 

Cooper Shops, 63, 75, 81. 

Copeland, Joseph A., 13. 

Coughlan, Thomas, 109. 

County Street, 120. 

Country Week, 11 . 

Cranberries, 105. 

Crops, 75. 

Cross Street, 98. 

.Cunningham, Michael, 58. 

Curtiss, Frederic H., 73. 

.Damrell, Charles, 114; Charles S., 45; 

John S., 45. 
Dandrow, E. K., 71, 106. 
Davidson, Agnes, d^. 
Davis, Alphonso, 80; Arthur E., 32. 
Day, John, 74 ; Jonathan, 75 ; Ralph, 

2, 14, 132. 
Day's Work, 27. 
"Deaconing," 46. 
Dean, Joseph. 120; Luke, 119. 
Dedham, 1, 2. 
Dedham Street, 66. 



146 



INDEX 



Dedham Tax List, 2. 

Derby, A. L., 43, 45; Martin, 43; 

Lawrence, 43. 
Dewing, Andrew, 2; Elijah, 7Z. 
Dingle Hole, 34, 126. 
Divining Rods, 35. 
Doctor's Bills, 42. 
Doctor Habit, 42. 
Doctors, Quacks, 45. 
Dodge, Arthur F., 79. 
Donation Money, 83. 
Don Pedro, 12. 
Dorr, Benjamin H., 23. 
Dover Farming, 6, 40, 54, 75, 88, 

117. 
Dover Grange, 11. 
Dover Historical Society, 36, 70, 90. 
Dover Street, 93. 
Draper, Aaron, 103 ; Charles, 8£ 

Daniel, 103; Eben S., 72; 

James, 2, 7, 17, 18. 19, 25; 

Jesse, 25; John, 19, 25, 26, 

134; John, Jr., 2, 19, 102; 

Joseph 2, 19, 25, 134; Josiah, 

59; Leonard, 59, 106; 

Michael, 19, 20; Moses, 59 

Thomas, 25. 
Drovers, 59. 
Du Bois, L. G., 12. 
Dudley, Fred, 48. 
Duff, John, 35. 
Dunn, Sarah E., 107; Theodore, 

104. 
Durocher, Joseph. 63. 

Eastman, Luther, 105. 

Edwards, William, 33. 

Elecampane, 34. 

Electric Cars, 120. 

Eliot, Apostle, 1, 32, 89, 127, 130. 

Ellis, Alpheus, 45; Benjamin, 2, 101, 
109; Caleb, 2, 97; Eleazer, 2, 
53, 67, 97, 104; Eleazer, Jr., 
70 ; Joshua, 3, 97, 105 ; Josiah, 



3, 111; Mercy, 105; Rebecca, 
105 ; Richard, 2 ; Timothy. 70. 

Emmons 2nd, Dr. A. B., 70 ,105. 

Ensilage, 114. 

Everett, George D., 17, 82; Mrs. 
George D., 18. 

Excursions, 69. 

Fagots, 47. 

Farm Help, 9, 85, 102 ; Labor, 29 ; 

Life, 4, 86; Produce, 6; Tools, 

89; Work, 136. 
Farm Street, 7. 
Farrington, Benjamin, 46. 
Faulk, John H., 24, 106; William, 

55, 56. 
Fay, J. Story, 3rd, 15. 
Fearing, Perez L., 80, 92. 
;Feeble minded, 60. 
Fire Insurance, 74, 83. 
Fisher, Charles, 119; George, 118; 

Jesse, 71; John, 51, 52, 130; 

Joseph, 71; Josiah, 3, 40, 127 ; 

Nathan, 107; Samuel, 107, 

117, 118, 134; William, 70. 
;Fisher's brook, 40, 126. 
Fishing, 69. 
Fiske, Nathaniel, 14; Mrs. Nathaniel, 

15 ; Noah, 41 ; Prescott, 98. 
Forbes, J. Grant, 48. 
Ford, John H., 108. 
Forestry, 53. 
Fortification, 36. 
Flowers, 58, 61. 
Floyd, Samuel, 66. 
Fuller, David, 86; R. Gorham, 29. 
Fulling Mill, 131. 
Front Yard, 3. 
Fresh Air, 36, 44. 
Frocks, 137. 
Fruit Trees, 93. 

Gardens, 11, 14, 35. 
Gardner, Philip, 16. 

147 



INDEX 



Gay, Stephen, 84. 
Gergler, Louis, 110. 
Gibbon, James, 49; William, 49. 
Gilmore, R. J., 12. 
Glen Street, 32. 
Gold Beads, 70. 
Gold Discovery, SO. 
Gookins, Daniel, 57. 
Goss & Russell, 133. 
Goulding, Henry, 16, 29, 38, 51. 
Gravestones, 84, 
Green, William, 24. 
Grew, Edward W., 13. 
Griggs, John, 70; Reuben, 25. 
Grindstones, 75. 
Grinnell, Dr. Francis B., IZ. 
Grove, 17. 

Guy, Benjamin, 115; Martin, 115 
Sarah A., 115; Timothy, 115. 

Hale, Richard W., 79, 80. 

Hales, J. G., 101. 

Hall, George D., 111. 

Hall Clocks, 3. 

Hammond, Josiah D., 57. 

Hanchett, Chester A., 18 ; Dana C, 
34. 

Harding, Ann, 48, 60 ; John, 48. 

Hart, Betsey, 94; Susan, 100; Wil- 
liam G, 94, 100. 

Hartshorn, Obed, 8, 9. 

Hartford Street, 113 ; Turnpike, 113. 

Harvey, Winthrop A., 60. 

Haskell, Rev. John, 105 ; Maria, 69. 

Hastings, Oscar, 116. 

Hatters, 112. 

Haven, Elias, 15, 97; Joseph, 96; 
Noah, 96. 

Haven Street, 94. 

Headburg, Gustaf, 57. 

Heard, Richard, 63. 

Henderson, Walter P., iii, 11. 

Herd House, 1, 117. 

Herring, Samuel, 116; Thomas, 116. 

Higbee, Augusta, 21. 



Higgins, Amy H., 90; Eben, Senior, 

20; Eben, 107, 108; Jedediah 

W., 56, 69, 105. 
Higginson, Juliet B., 71. 
Hill, William, 66 ; William & Sons, 

133. 
Historic trees, 102. 
Hodgson, Caroline, 98; Ernest E., 

53, 97 ; Thomas, 53. 
Home duties, 136. 
Hopkins, James C, 9, 122. 
Horse collars, 59. 
Horton, Henry, 45. 
House heating, 137. 
House, oldest, Zd; Banking, 91. 
Howe, Albion K, 23; Alonzo, 46; 

Betsey S., 53; Isaac, 69; 
; George L., 70, 90; William 

A., 47. 
Howland, John A., 22. 
Humphrey, John, 23 ; William P., 

74. 
Hunting, 9, 23. 
Huskings, 39. 

Ice chests, 34. 

Indians, 1, 27, 31, 32, 49, 79, 118. 

130. 
Insane, 84. 
Insurance, 74. 
Iron ore, 26. 

Jake place, 84. 

James, Edward, 71. 

Jepson, John, 85. 

Jolliffe, Thomas H., 92. 

Jones, Adam, 94 ; Alice J., 25 ; Helen 

M., 107; Hiram W.. 24, 25, 

29, 46, 51; John, 9Z, 94; 

Samuel, 64; Stephen, 46; 

Theodore F., 48. 
Junction Street, 122. 

Kelley, Louis H., 115. 
148 



INDEX 



Kenrick, Benjamin, 18; Caleb, 34 

John, 16; Richard, 57. 
Keys, Ezra, 66. 
King, William, 26, 120. 
King's Highway, 120. 
Kirby, Charles K., 48. 
Knapp, Ebenezer, 3 ; Jesse, 42. 
Knowles, John A., 25. 
Knowlton, Josiah, 57. 
Koopman, C. M., 24. 

Land burning, 76. 

Larrabee, Joseph, 83; Thomas, 83. 

Leach, Samuel, 3. 

Leach barrel, 31. 

Lee, John S., 38. 

Leeds, Charles F., 121. 

Leighton, Benjamin W., 59. 

Lexington Alarm, 15, 50, 97, 103, 

107. 
Liberty pole, 17. 
Little brook, 128. 
Locke, William H., 102, 
Longevity, 8. 
Loring, Israel, 94. 
Lotteries, 65. 
Lumber yard, 56. 
Lyman, Charles F., 14. 

Main Street, 41. 

Mann, Abigail, 69; Daniel, 51, 74; 
Daniel, 2d, 44, 48 ; Daniel F., 
75 ; Elbridge L., 48, 50 ; Ellis, 
110; James, 20; James, Jr., 
49 ; James G., 47 ; Lorenzo, 
49; Simeon, 20, 110; Wil- 
lard, 20. 

Marden, Charles, 66; Jeremiah, 66. 

Marketing, 13. 

Market days, 17; Gardening, 75. 

Maring, Leonard, 135. 

Marr, N. D., 90. 

Mason, Asa, 63, 135 ; Ebenezer, 62 ; 
John, 17; Moses, 14; Seth, 
Jr., 17; Mrs. Seth, 16. 



; Maypole, 19. 
McClure, John, 34. 
McCoy, Andrew T., 58. 
McDonald, Angus, 56. 
McDowell, Corwin, 30. 
McGill, James, 31, 48; Thomas, 30, 

31. 
McKenzie, George, 64 ; John, 59 ; R. 

Murdock, 60. 
McLine, Michael, 81. 
McNamara, John, 108; Matthew, 

103; Patrick, 56, 108; Wil 

Ham A., 45. 
Meacham, Col. George A., 103. 
Merryfield, Thomas, 26; Timothy, 

123. 
Metcalf, Nathan, 23, Samuel, 23. 
Milk business, 20, 71. 
Mills, 125, 130. 
Mills, Davis C, 9. 
Mill brook, 128; Street, 78; Grist, 

132. 
Miller, Aaron, 68; John, 21; Sarah, 

70. 
Minot, Robert S., 21, 36. 
Moore, H., 135; Z., 135. 
Morse, Charles, 90; Daniel, 2, 39. 
Mowing machine, 29. 
(Myer, John, 92. 

Needham school land, 93. 

Neponset river, 129. 

New dam, 132. 

New mill, 71. 

Newell, Benjamin, 64; Carrie, 60; 

Charles, 62; Ebenezer, 30, 

86, 102, 108, 135; Horatio, 57; 

Jesse, 60; Jesse, Jr., 61; 

John A., 60; Josiah, 51, 132; 

Josiah, Jr., 64, 65; Reuben, 

69; Samuel, 133; Theodore, 

64. 
Nichols, John Q. A., 43, 44. 
Noanet, 2; Noanet brook, 128; 

Noanet hall, 65. 

149 



INDEX 



Norfolk Agricultural Society, 51. 

Norfolk Hunt Club, 60. 

North brook, 130. 

Norton, T. Cooley, 109; Rev. 

Thomas, S., 69. 
Nursery, 92. 

Oak tree, 67. 

Occupation of women, 25. 

"Old Town Folks," 116. 

Orchards, 96, 136. 

Orchestra, 112. 

Orcutt, Henry. 43, 

Otis, Edmund B., 65 ; George, 53. 

Otter brook, 126. 

Oxen, 16. 

Packard, Hubbard C, 79. 

Paine, Barnabas, 105; Irvin A., 59; 

John R., 59; Lewis B., 72, 

106. 
Paper cutting, 70. 
Parish wood lot, 109. 
Parker, Augustin H., 72. 
Parkinson, John, Jr., 81. 
Parmenter, Freeman A., 34. 
Parsonage, 53, 69. 
Peat, 66. 

Peddlers, 42 ; Pack, 61 ; Tin, 62. 
Penmanship, 113. 
Peppelow, John, 9. 
Perry, Elijah, 51, 52, 133 ; Jonathan, 

90, 92; Lowell, 90; Samuel, 

90. 
Pettee, Otis, 133. 
Phillips, E. T., 90. 
Photograph albums, 60. 
Piazza, 35. 
Picnic Grounds, 90. 
Pierce, Homer, 89. 
Pigeons, wild, 111. 
Pigs, 6. 

Pine Street, 61. 
Pioneer life, 5. 



Plants, 25, 33. 

Play, 90. 

Playthings, 11 . 

Pleasant Street, 49. 

Plimpton, John, 16, 38; Jonathan, 

36. 
Plummer, Micajah S., 20, 43. 
Plympton, Charles W., 52. 
Pokanoket Club, 10. 
Poole, William E., 108. 
Poor house, 63. 

Porter, Dr. William T., 12, 13, 36. 
Post Office, 65, 123. 
Powder house, 108. 
Powers, Katherine E., 63. 
Powisset, 1; Club, 119; Indians, 

117; street, 117. 
Preserving, 136. 
Proctor, Rev. George, 54. 
Pumps, Zd. 
Puritans, 18. 

Quilting, 136, 140. 

Railroads, 122. 

Rats, 119. 

Rattlesnakes, 114. 

Reed, John, 54, 68; Josiah, 110. 

Revolution, 80. 

Rice, Harry L., 21; Fred B., 21; 
John, 48; Wilder, 50. 

Rich, Henry, 11 . 

Richards, Abijah, 81 ; Alice M., 74; 
Asa, 81, 135 ; Calvin, 29, 51, 
IZ ; Ebenezer, IZ ; Edward, 
79; Joseph, 71 ; Josiah, 79, 80, 
81 ; J. Franklin, 34 ; Lemuel, 
72; Luther, 74,81, 134; Na- 
thaniel, 82: Moses, 83, 108; 
Richard, 79; Solomon, 81; 
Thomas, 79, 133 ; W. Mason, 
53, 134. 

Richardson, Warren, 50. 

Ricker, Benjamin, 49; Olive, 49. 

150 



INDEX 



Roads, 4, 85. 
Robinson, Ebenezer, 3. 
Rogers, Robert K., 50. 
Rolling mill, 132. 
Rosewater, 57. 
Rural conditions, 54. 

Sanger, Irene F., 73; Rev. Ralph, 

51, 52, 54, 108. 
Savings banks, 54. 
Sawin, Benjamin N., 11, 51, 90; Cal- 
vin H., 90; Frank M., 90; 

Dr. Isaac, 58; Joel, 58; 

Thomas, 90; Warren, 90. 
Saw mill, 110. 
Sawyer, Edmond, 79. 
Schaffner, J. V., 112. 
Schomaker, Henry, 65. 
Schoolhouse, 16, 94. 
Scott, Capt. George, 73. 
Samuel, B., 135. 
Seeds, 79. 
Set Kettle. 137. 
Sewing machine, 39. 
Shoe filling, 47. 
Shoemakers, 6, 12, 117. 
Shoe shops, 55, 64. 
Shumway, Amos W., 10 ; Amos W., 

Jr., 10; John, 10, 11; John 

W., 9. 
Sickness, 13. 
Silk worms, 22. 
Silver money, 57. 
Skimmings, W. H., 42. 
Slaughter houses, 10, 29. 
Slavery, 25, 102. 
Slavin, Patrick, 21. 
Smith, Abner L., 22, 51 ; Albert L., 

9. 3S: Allen F., 54; Caleb. 

129; Charles H., 43; David 

M., 92; Draper, 10, 31, 38; 

Eben, 74 ; Ebenezer, 71 ; 

Ebenezer, Jr., 22. 26; Frank, 

38 ; Joseph, 23, 38 ; Joseph A. 

11, 12, 34; Lucy A., 97; 



Lewis, 24, 71, 134; Nathaniel, 
32; Melancthon, 22; Rufus, 
55; Thomas, 76, 121; Wil- 
liam E., 90. 

Smith Street, 34. 

Smokehouse, 16. 

Snow, J. H., 58. 

Soule, Alexander, 19. 

Spear, Charles C. J., 72; Stillman, 
J., 8. 

Spending money, 76. 

Sports, 101. 

Spring brook, 127. 

Springdale Avenue, 100; Park, 43. 

Springfield Parish, 2, 43. 

Spywood, Eunice, 44. 

Stage coach, 120. 

Stanwood, Philip C, 73. 

State road, 106. 

Stearns, Robert, 92. 

Stevens, Henry R., 46, 114. 

Stone walls, 30, 31, 51, 90. 

Stores, 11, 17, 43, 65, 66, 76, 106. 

Stowe, Albert, 116; Prof. Calvin E., 
116; Walter, 51, 116. 

Stratton, Martha, 109. 

Strawberry hill, 78. 

Strawberry Hill Street, 78. 

Straw bonnets, 60. 

Sturtevant, Josiah D., 52. 

Sullivan, Cornelius, 66 ; Daniel, 71 ; 
John A., 86. 

Superstitions, 98. 

Surgical operations, 115. 

Swan, Francis, 54. 

Talbot. A.-^a. 18, 20. 
Tannery, 104. 
Tappan. Robert M.. 51, 92. 
Taylor, George E., 110. 
"Team haul," 97. 
Thanksgiving, 67. 
Theater, 41. 
Thieving, 50. 
151 



INDEX 



Tilden, Freeman, 30; William S., 
36. 

Tisdale, Ansel K., 90, 105, 112 
Billings, 112; Fisher, 112 
Henry, 1 12 ; Homestead, 112 
James, 129; William, 51, 113. 

Tisdale Association, 67. 

Toboggan, 131. 

Toll house, 112. 

Tomatoes, 136. 

Traders, 17. 

Tramps, 26. 

Trout brook, 127. 

Tuck, A. R., 15. 

Tubwreck brook, 129. 

Upham, Jon^rhan 103; Walter C, 
103, 123. 

Vacations, 92. 
Vehicles, 41. 

Wadsworth, Moses, 121. 

Wages, 28. 

Wall, Patrick, 71 ; William, 58. 

Walpole Street, 107. 

Water supply, 21. 

Weaving shops, 57, 60, 70, 80, 135. 

Weirs, 128. 

Welch, William T., 9, 32; George, 
24. 

Wentworth, Alonzo, 41. 

Wheaton, Caleb, 131. 

Whiting, Aaron, 103 ; Daniel, 54, 
68, 102; Enoch, 104, 105; 
Gardner C., IZ; Ithamar, 1st, 
56; Ithamar, 103, 105; Jon- 
athan, 3, 51, 63, 64, 103, 108; 



Josiah, 63, 64; Nathaniel, 
63; Rufus, 103; William, 
102, 103, 105, 110. 

Wheeler, Joseph, 100. 

Whip shop, 45. 

Wight, Aaron, 32; Amos, 10, 11; 
Arnold, 87; Mrs. Arnold, 86; 
Asa, 32; Caleb, 30; Daniel, 
2, 3, 71, 72; Frederick H., 
32, 53 ; James H., 42, 43, 56 ; 
John, 14, 21; Orin, 9; Seth, 
30; Seth, Jr., 30. 

Wight Street, 30. 

Wigwam portable houses, 53. 

Wilkinson, Ebenezer, 42, 43. 

Williams, Charles, 16; John, 53, 
54, 55, 68, 135 ; Ralph B., 17. 

Williams Tavern, 5, 68. 

Willow Street, 64. 

Wilson, Ephraim, 69, 89, 134 ;.Henry 
87; Nathaniel, 3,81,89; Sam- 
uel, 81-84. 

Wilsondale Street, 85. 

Winchenbach, Frank H., 44; Henry 
J., 45. 

Wind storm, 64. 

Wisset road, 115. 

Wolves, 22. 

Woods, native, 66, 

Woodpile, 10. 

Wood products, 64. 

Woodward, Joshua L., 86. 

Woman's rights, 17. 

Wotton, Warren, 97. 

Wrench bed. 137. 

Wrestling, 19. 

Ziolkowski farm, 110. 



152 



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